NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday provided details on the deportation of Indian nationals from the United States during its weekly media briefing, highlighting the recent return of 73-year-old Harjit Kaur.“In the last several months, since January 2025, so far, we’ve had 2417 Indian nationals deported or repatriated from the United States. In the case of Harjeet Kaur, she also returned recently,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.“We want to promote legal pathways of migration. At the same time, India stands against illegal migration,” he added.Jaiswal explained that Indian authorities verify the nationality of individuals referred to them and facilitate their return only after confirming their documents and legal status.He added that whenever a person does not possess legal status in any country and is referred to India with claims of being an Indian national, authorities conduct a background check, confirm the nationality and then arrange their return. This is how deportations from the United States have been handled.
Who is Harjit Kaur?
Harjit Kaur, a Sikh woman from Pangota village in Tarn Taran, Punjab, had lived in the US for more than three decades after moving there with her sons following her husband’s death.Also Read | ‘Bring Grandma Home’: Hundreds rally in California against Harjit Kaur’s arrest; family demands her releaseShe worked in the San Francisco Bay Area and had applied for asylum multiple times, all of which were denied. Her case attracted widespread attention in the US, with hundreds of people rallying in California demanding her release.
Harjit Kaur’s deportation case
Kaur was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during a routine immigration check on September 8 this year. She was placed in handcuffs, transported in a van to Georgia under harsh conditions and held without her family or attorney being informed. After about 48 hours in custody, ICE deported her to India. During the ordeal, she said, “After living there for so long, you are suddenly detained and deported this way, it is better to die than to face this. In such a situation, one should not live.”Also Read |‘Better to die than face this’: 73-year-old Punjab grandma deported after 30 yrs in USShe added, “I was in handcuffs the entire time, I couldn’t sit properly, and no one informed my family.” Kaur described the journey as harrowing, highlighting the lack of food, water and medical care.