Grandma slept on floor, served ice for food during ICE detention

Immigration officials detained a 73-year-old Sikh woman for 15 days under conditions that allegedly included sleeping on floors and being served ice when she requested food before ultimately...

The Rebel Yellow - Issue #126

A 73-year-old Sikh grandmother was detained by U.S. immigration officials for 15 days under conditions that allegedly included sleeping on floors and being served ice instead of food before she was deported to India, where she had not lived in more than 30 years. Her case comes amid record ICE raids, including the largest ever at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, while a Missouri senator declared that America “belongs” only to white Christians at a far-right conference. Meanwhile, researchers in China unveiled a million-year-old skull that could rewrite human evolution, and new U.S. data showed lung cancer in 1.3% of Asian American women who never smoked.

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Sikh grandmother slept on floor, served ice for food during ICE detention

Immigration officials detained a 73-year-old Sikh woman for 15 days under conditions that allegedly included sleeping on floors and being served ice when she requested food before ultimately deporting her to India after more than 30 years in the U.S.

No criminal history: Harjit Kaur came to California in 1991 with her two young sons, leaving Punjab to escape political unrest. She spent the next two decades working as a seamstress at Sari Palace in Berkeley, where she crafted wedding dresses for community members while maintaining legal work authorization and paying taxes.

Following her unsuccessful asylum appeals that concluded in 2012, the grandmother of five with no criminal history dutifully appeared at ICE offices every six months for over a decade, and even requested travel documents from India’s consulate to facilitate her departure.

Detention: Immigration agents arrested Kaur on Sept. 8 during what she believed was a routine check-in appointment in San Francisco, leaving her family without knowledge of her location for more than 24 hours. What followed was treatment that included denial of basic necessities: When she asked for food or water to take her prescribed medications, detention staff allegedly gave her a plate of ice. When she explained her dentures prevented her from consuming it, guards reportedly responded with “That’s your fault.”

She said staff also served her meals containing meat during her first six days in custody despite her strict vegetarian religious practices. To make matters worse, she was allegedly forced to sleep on floors for 60 to 70 hours without access to a bed despite her history of double knee replacement surgery. She also claimed being denied basic sanitary supplies, including toilet paper, and prohibited from showering throughout her detention.

Deportation: Immigration officials transferred Kaur to a Georgia facility on Sept. 19. She was deported three days later without being allowed to collect belongings from her home or say goodbye to relatives. Upon landing in Delhi on Thursday, she remained dressed in detention facility clothing.

Reflecting on her treatment after her arrival in India this week, Kaur told the Times of India, “After living there for so long, to be deported this way — it is better to die than face this humiliation. Look at my feet, they are swollen like cow dung cakes. I neither got medicine nor am I able to walk.”

The big picture: Kaur’s case reflects the current administration’s expanded immigration enforcement, which has gone beyond targeting the “worst of the worst.” Cato Institute research shows that over 93% of fiscal year 2025 detainees lacked convictions for violent crimes. Kaur is also among roughly 2,400 Indian nationals who have been deported from the U.S. since President Donald Trump intensified removal operations.

Despite her family’s attempts to purchase commercial airline tickets during her detention and her willingness to comply with removal requirements, immigration officials proceeded with the deportation and justified their actions by claiming she would cease to “waste” federal tax revenue.

Now in India without permanent housing, Kaur wants one thing. “My request is that I be sent back to my family,” she told NDTV.

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Westminster council condemns OC nonprofit for “whitewashing” Vietnamese history

Members of the Westminster City Council in Orange County, California, voted on Sept. 24 to condemn local nonprofit VietRISE after a workshop on Vietnamese history featured slides quoting Ho Chi Minh. Officials said the presentation, later posted on Instagram under the title “The August Revolution: Vietnam’s Fight For Freedom,” glorified the former communist leader and disrespected refugees who fled his rule.