Sikh woman, 73, from Punjab deported from US after spending over 3 decades

THE Trump administration, last week, deported a Sikh woman from Punjab, who had lived in the US for over 30 years. Her attorney said that she was not even given a bed for 60-70 hours, and was made to sleep on the floor without a blanket.

The Sikh woman, Harjit Kaur, alias ‘Bibi ji’ was detained by immigration authorities in California after she went for a routine check, triggering protests and concerns among her family and community members.
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Later, she was handcuffed by the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials in the middle of the night, and transferred to a detention center in Bakersfield to Los Angeles and placed on a flight to Georgia – without notifying the attorney, Kaur's attorney, Ahluwalia told PTI.

‘Denied bed, shower’

According to the deported Sikh woman's attorney, Harjit Kaur was unable to get up after her gruelling flight as she had undergone a double knee replacement surgery.

“She was not even given a bed for nearly 60-70 hours, and made to sleep on the floor with a blanket. She was unable to get up as she had a double knee replacement surgery,” said Ahluwalia.

“She was also denied a shower the entire time. Prior to the flight on Monday, she and some other detainees were given wet wipes and told to just clean up before boarding the plane from Georgia to Armenia. From Armenia, she came to Delhi on an ICE chartered plane."

How many Indians have been deported?

The US deported 1,703 Indian nationals from January 20 to July 22, 2025, including 141 women, Mint reported earlier.

“Between 20 January and 22 July 2025, a total of 1,703 Indian nationals were deported by the US. Of them, there were 1,562 men and 141 women,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated last month.