US Authorities Deport 73-Yr-Old Punjabi Grandmother To India: 'Not Even Allowed To Say Goodbye To Family'

A 73-year old Sikh woman, who was detained by immigration authorities in California, has been deported to India by US immigration authorities. Bibi Harjit Kaur was not allowed to meet her family in the US for a last goodbye before she was deported back to India in handcuffs, according to her lawyer.Harjit Kaur was undocumented, according to a report in ABC7News. She came to the US in 1992 from India as a single mother with two sons. Her asylum case was denied in 2012, but since then she has reported to ICE in San Francisco every six months for more than 13 years, her daughter-in-law Manji Kaur said. She was taken into custody on September 8 during one such scheduled check-in.Her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, confirmed in an Instagram video that

Kaur had exhausted all her appeal options, however, raised questions on the manner in which she was deported. She was suddenly taken from Bakersfield to Los Angeles Sunday night, and thereafter put on a chartered flight to Georgia, according to him."From the moment she arrived in Georgia on Saturday until her departure on Monday evening, she was held in a temporary detention facility for outgoing detainees," he said, sharing how she was met with harsh treatment, including confinement in concrete cells and denial of basic amenities.All of this happened while her family and lawyer somehow managed to procure the travel document by themselves and were "trying to negotiate with the ICE attorneys and the government for her to depart on a commercial flight," he said.Instead of allowing her to travel on a commercial flight, ICE put her on a chartered plane with other deportees.Kaur's detention had sparked protests in California. More than 200 people had gathered outside the El Sobrante Sikh Gurdwara in Contra Costa County holding signs that read "Bring Grandma Home." Supporters described her as "everyone's grandmother," with passing cars honking in solidarity.Kaur reportedly arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on September 23.