Bibi Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old grandmother from India, was deported after several days in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Georgia, in conditions her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, described to American Community Media as “barbaric.”
Newsweek has reached out to Ahluwalia and ICE for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
Kaur’s detention and subsequent deportation come amid an immigration crackdown, with President Donald Trump having pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
Thousands of immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained. Individuals here without proper documentation have been asked by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to self-deport.
Several legal cases have been filed against the Trump administration over reported conditions in detention facilities, including lack of medical attention and basic food and sanitation needs, among others.
What To Know
Kaur came to California from Punjab, India, in 1991 with her two sons. She applied for asylum based on religious persecution along with thousands of other Sikhs; however, she was denied twice, with the latest rejection in 2013. Her lawyer confirmed this in a video post on Facebook, saying, “She did exhaust all her appeal options, that’s factually correct,” and instead noting that the “conversation that needs to be had is the way in which she was sent back.”
He noted that “when Bibi’s case was finally denied and went all the way up to the Ninth Circuit, she began checking in with ICE for over a course of 13 years. And she assisted them in any which way in order to procure that travel document, which is the condition of her release.” Her travel documents were needed to return to India, which Ahluwalia repeatedly noted were not procured by ICE.
On September 8, during an ICE check-in, she was arrested in San Francisco. She was initially held in Bakersfield, California, and then transferred to a facility in Lumpkin, Georgia, on September 20.
“Around 2 a.m., without notifying the attorney, without any advance notice to anybody, (ICE) took her from Bakersfield, drove her to L.A. while in handcuffs yet again, and put her on a flight to Georgia,” Ahluwalia said in the Facebook video. He emphasized that they did not notify anyone related to her or her legal team.
Kaur described to him the conditions in the facility, noting that when she asked to have food or water to take with her medication, “she was given a plate of ice,” he said. “She explained she had dentures and she couldn’t eat it. The guard told her, ‘That’s your fault.’”
She was also not provided with a bed, having slept on the floor in the center, which made it difficult for her to get up. She was not given basic hygiene needs, and instead of a shower, was handed wet wipes to clean herself.
The Stewart Detention Center is owned and operated by CoreCivic Inc. It is one of the largest and most well-known immigration detention facilities in the U.S. A report from the ACLU, which previously condemned the facility for poor conditions and due process violations, says that at least 10 people died there between 2017 and 2024.
ICE told NBC News that the agency “is enforcing U.S. law and the orders by the judge; she will not waste any more U.S. tax dollars.”
Ahluwalia told American Community Media, “Her detention was nothing short of barbaric. That type of treatment would affect most people. They chose to do this to a 73-year-old woman with disabilities and health issues.”
Kaur was later flown from Georgia to Armenia and then to New Delhi.
What People Are Saying
Kaur’s family said in a statement last week: “Harjit’s case represents a failure of our immigration system. She has been a contributing member of her community for decades, paying taxes, working legally, and building relationships with neighbors and friends. Her detention is not only cruel but unnecessary. She has never refused to return to India but cannot without documents.”
Dr. K. Srikar Reddy, the Consul General of India at San Francisco, told American Community Media: “Once ICE requests travel documents, it usually takes just a couple of days for us to issue them. But Mrs. Kaur had migrated more than 30 years ago, so we had no information about her. We had to connect with Indian authorities, which took some time.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek: “Illegal aliens can take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
Brian Todd, a spokesperson for CoreCivic, told Newsweek in May: “CoreCivic plays a limited but important role in America’s immigration system, and we care deeply about treating people in our facilities humanely and providing them with a safe, clean and dignified environment as they prepare for the next steps in their immigration process.”
What Happens Next
While Kaur has been deported, “a lot of people are in this situation in ICE detention facilities as we speak,” her lawyer said, adding that the manner in which she was treated, and likely others, is “completely unacceptable.” Her legal team will be filing a separate complaint regarding the conditions.