A rally was held Friday demanding the release of Harjit Kaur, a grandmother with health issues who worked at Berkeley’s Sari Palace for two decades and is now facing deportation.
By Jana Kadah Sept. 12, 2025 (Berkleyside.org)
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Editors’ note: This story was first published on Friday, Sept. 12, and significantly updated on Saturday, Sept. 13.
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.
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).
Dozens of people held signs that read “bring grandma home” 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.
Kaur’s grandaughter Sukhdeep Kaur described her as “everyone’s grandma” — a “mother figure [to the community who] is independent, selfless, hard-working.” She said the love and support has been a light for her family during this difficult time.
“We are all just in a state of shock,” Sukhdeep Kaur said at the gathering. “I never thought something like this would happen, especially with her history and her being such a huge part of the community. It’s just outrageous.”
“It’s just been a total nightmare. I don’t feel like this is real,” Manji Kaur, Harjit Kaur’s daughter-in-law, said.
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 on University Avenue in Berkeley and regularly attended the El Sobrante Sikh Gurdwara. 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.
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.
Harjit Kaur’s asylum case was denied in 2012, but since then she has “faithfully reported” to ICE in San Francisco every six months for more than 13 years, her daughter-in-law said.
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.
“ICE has been trying for the past 13 years to get her a travel document. If ICE can’t get it in 13 years, how are we supposed to get it?” Manji Kaur said.
She added that prior to this detainment, there have been no issues, and her mother-in-law has followed every rule.
“She’s eligible [and] always applied for a work permit. …She pays taxes every year,” Maji Kaur said. “She’s going by the book. She doesn’t even have a, from my knowledge, and I would know, any violations for driving or anything like that.”
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.
When she talked to her by phone on Thursday she could hear the anxiety and pain in her voice.
“Our fears, I hope they don’t come true. I’m praying that she’s OK in there,” Maji Kaur said. “She’s everything to me. … We just lost one mom (my mom) a few years back, and we can’t afford to lose another one.”
The protest was organized by Kaur’s family, Indivisible West Contra Costa County and the Sikh Center. Members of U.S. Rep. John Garamendi’s staff, local elected officials and other political leaders also attended.
Council member working to get Kaur released
Hercules council member Dilli Bhattarai said he is exploring how his city can pressure the federal government to release Kaur.
“She is not doing any harm to the community. She is an abiding [constitutent] just like us,” Bhattarai said. “She has all the rights to be here as a community member and we should all support her immediate release.”
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’s family has urged the community to do the same.
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.
“Other communities have come by and stood with us today,” Manji Kaur said. “We don’t want to forget them.”
