More than 2,400 Indians have been deported from the United States this year, India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Friday, with the case of a 73-year-old Sikh woman from Punjab drawing fresh attention to the issue.
The woman, who had lived in California’s Bay Area for nearly three decades after moving there with her sons following her husband’s death, was deported earlier this month. She had filed multiple asylum requests over the years, all of which were rejected. Her sudden removal has sparked outrage within the U.S. Sikh community, where she was described as “everyone’s grandma” and a symbol of resilience and independence.
According to her granddaughter Sukhdeep Kaur, she was “the epitome of the American dream — independent, selfless, and hard-working.” Supporters staged demonstrations in California demanding her release after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained her on September 8. She was transferred under what her family described as harsh conditions to Georgia on September 19, and within 48 hours was placed on a flight back to India.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that between January 20 and September 25, U.S. authorities returned a total of 2,417 Indians. He reiterated that India does not support illegal migration but accepts back citizens once their nationality is verified. “We want to promote legal pathways for migration. At the same time, India stands against illegal migration,” Jaiswal said.
He added that New Delhi is coordinating with state governments to curb visa fraud and crack down on illegal migration networks. “Illegal migration undermines our efforts to promote legal migration,” he stressed.
The woman’s deportation has underscored the growing tension around immigration enforcement in the United States, while raising questions about how long-term undocumented residents — particularly elderly individuals — are treated in the system. For her supporters, it has also reignited debate over compassion, legality, and the lived realities of immigrant communities who have spent decades building lives abroad.