EL SOBRANTE, Calif. (KGO) — People gathered on Friday to protest the detention of a longtime East Bay resident.
Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old undocumented grandmother from El Sobrante, showed up to a regular immigration appointment this week in San Francisco, and ICE would not let her go.
“It’s been a total nightmare to find out she’s been detained. We didn’t expect it. She’s been doing ICE check-ins for 13 years,” said Manjit Kaur, her daughter-in-law.
“They just said we are detaining your grandma and didn’t give me any other information, didn’t let me see her. And after that, we didn’t hear from her for hours and when we did hear from her, she was crying and begging us for help,” said Sukhmeet Sandhu, her granddaughter.
MORE: Should ICE be allowed in healthcare facilities? Rally held for detained woman at Stanford Hospital
Manjit said, “She was a mess when she called us. We just waited until we heard something from her. We were just shocked and devastated.”
“We are making sure that she is released, and if she wants to self-deport, she will have that opportunity,” said Hapreet Sandhu, Richmond office representative for Congressman John Garamendi.
Congressman John Garamendi’s office is getting involved, demanding for the grandmother’s release.
Harjit Kaur is currently being held hours away in Bakersfield.
TARA CAMPBELL: “Have you been able to contact or have any communication with ICE?”
HAPREET SANDHU: “The first process is to file the letter, which we did on behalf of the family this (Friday) morning, so we are hoping for communication to come back and then follow through after that point.”
MORE: Protesters clash with federal agents detaining people at immigration hearings in East Bay
Protesters in Concord battled federal agents in front of an SUV holding two immigrants arrested just after their hearings in immigration court.
In the meantime, the Indian community is getting behind the family.
“We’ve known Harjit for 25 – 30 years of our lives. My parents own a store in Berkeley, she’s worked there all her life as a tailor, and it’s women like her who come to work, and work hard everyday that women like me can exist,” said Puga Thakkar, a family friend. “It’s on the back of women like her that I’m able to be a doctor.”
“When we got news of this, we were horrified. How can the federal government be taking a 73-year-old woman who has medical issues into custody when she’s been doing everything that’s been required of her for the past 13 years,” said Chris Mathias, a protester.
ABC7 News reached out to ICE for more details and are waiting to hear back.
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