{"id":43908,"date":"2025-09-14T12:38:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T19:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=43908"},"modified":"2025-09-14T12:38:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T19:38:46","slug":"updated-protesters-demand-release-of-former-berkeley-worker-73-detained-by-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/updated-protesters-demand-release-of-former-berkeley-worker-73-detained-by-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"Updated: Protesters demand release of former Berkeley worker, 73, detained by ICE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A rally was held Friday demanding the release of Harjit Kaur, a grandmother with health issues who worked at Berkeley\u2019s Sari Palace for two decades and is now facing deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Jana Kadah<\/a> Sept. 12, 2025 (Berkleyside.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An estimated 200 people rallied in El Sobrante Friday to call for the release of Harjit Kaur a grandmother from Hercules who is being detained by ICE. The two youths (left) consider Kaur their grandmother as she worked at their family\u2019s business, Sari Palace in Berkeley, for more than 20 years. Credit: Jana Kadah\/Richmondside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Editors\u2019 note: This story was first published on Friday, Sept. 12, and significantly updated on Saturday, Sept. 13.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 73-year-old East Bay grandmother, Harjit Kaur, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials during a routine check-in this week. On Friday her family and about 200 community members protested to demand her release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protest was held at 5 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Appian Way and San Pablo Dam Road in El Sobrante (below the El Sobrante Gurdwara). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Harjit Kaur. Courtesy of her family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of people held signs that read \u201cbring grandma home\u201d at the intersection of Appian Way and San Pablo Dam Road in El Sobrante (below the El Sobrante Gurdwara). Harjit Kaur has two grandsons and three granddaughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaur\u2019s grandaughter Sukhdeep Kaur described her as \u201ceveryone\u2019s grandma\u201d \u2014 a \u201cmother figure [to the community who] is independent, selfless, hard-working.\u201d She said the love and support has been a light for her family during this difficult time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are all just in a state of shock,\u201d Sukhdeep Kaur said at the gathering. \u201cI never thought something like this would happen, especially with her history and her being such a huge part of the community. It\u2019s just outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of Harjit Kaur\u2019s granddaughters (second from right) is one of many who shed tears during a protest held Sept. 12 in El Sobrante to demand the Hercules resident\u2019s release from a Bakersfield ICE detention center. Credit: Jana Kadah\/Richmondside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just been a total nightmare. I don\u2019t feel like this is real,\u201d Manji Kaur, Harjit Kaur\u2019s daughter-in-law, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaur has lived in the East Bay for more than 30 years. She currently lives in Hercules but worked for over two decades at Sari Palace<\/a> on University Avenue in Berkeley and regularly attended the El Sobrante Sikh Gurdwara<\/a>. She was detained on Monday after ICE asked her to come to the San Francisco office to turn in additional paperwork. On Tuesday she was taken to a detention center in Bakersfield. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sukhdeep Kaur said her grandmother is the epitome of the American dream. She came to the United States in 1992 from India as a single mother with two sons to help pave a way for their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harjit Kaur\u2019s asylum case was denied in 2012, but since then she has \u201cfaithfully reported\u201d to ICE in San Francisco every six months for more than 13 years, her daughter-in-law said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also said that Harjit Kaur had never refused to return to India and had repeatedly sought travel documents from the Indian Consulate but was turned down. ICE assured her she could remain in the United States under supervision with work permits until they could receive the travel documents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cICE has been trying for the past 13 years to get her a travel document. If ICE can\u2019t get it in 13 years, how are we supposed to get it?\u201d Manji Kaur said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that prior to this detainment, there have been no issues, and her mother-in-law has followed every rule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Several protesters from the Sikh community joined a protest held Friday in El Sobrante to demand Harjit Kaur\u2019s release from an ICE detention center. Credit: Jana Kadah\/Richmondside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s eligible [and] always applied for a work permit. \u2026She pays taxes every year,\u201d Maji Kaur said. \u201cShe\u2019s going by the book. She doesn\u2019t even have a, from my knowledge, and I would know, any violations for driving or anything like that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family worries that being detained at her age with serious health issues such as thyroid disease, migraines, knee pain, and anxiety, detention is putting her life at risk. Manji Kaur added that her mother-in-law does not have access to any of her medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she talked to her by phone on Thursday she could hear the anxiety and pain in her voice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur fears, I hope they don\u2019t come true. I\u2019m praying that she\u2019s OK in there,\u201d Maji Kaur said. \u201cShe\u2019s everything to me. \u2026 We just lost one mom (my mom) a few years back, and we can\u2019t afford to lose another one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Manji Kaur thanks the estimated 200 people who gathered at a protest held for her mother-in-law and tells them they will continue fighting for her release from ICE detention. Harjit Kaur\u2019s son (center) also thanked the crowd but could not muster any more words. His daughter Sukhdeep Kaur said it had been difficult to see the strongest members of her family struggling. Credit: Jana Kadah\/Richmondside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The protest was organized by Kaur\u2019s family, Indivisible West Contra Costa County and the Sikh Center. Members of U.S. Rep. John Garamendi\u2019s staff, local elected officials and other political leaders also attended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council member working to get Kaur released<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hercules council member Dilli Bhattarai said he is exploring how his city can pressure the federal government to release Kaur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is not doing any harm to the community. She is an abiding [constitutent] just like us,\u201d Bhattarai said. \u201cShe has all the rights to be here as a community member and we should all support her immediate release.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Hercules is already a sanctuary city, so there is not much his office can do aside from contacting officials at the federal level. Harjit Kaur\u2019s family has urged the community to do the same<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Several community members who don\u2019t personally know Harjit Kaur also showed up to demand her release from ICE detention. Credit: Jana Kadah\/Richmondside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the two-hour long protest, hundreds of cars passed through the busy intersection honking their horns in support. At the end, Manji Kaur asked attendees to come to the same spot every Friday to not only demand the release of Harjit Kaur, but of all those wrongfully detained by ICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOther communities have come by and stood with us today,\u201d Manji Kaur said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to forget them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A rally was held Friday demanding the release of Harjit Kaur, a grandmother with health issues who worked at Berkeley\u2019s Sari Palace for two decades and is now facing deportation. By\u00a0Jana Kadah Sept. 12, 2025 (Berkleyside.org) Will you chip in to support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation today? Yes, I want… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43908"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43909,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43908\/revisions\/43909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}