Congressman John Garamendi announced today that he will leave his guest seat empty at President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address on Feb. 24 to honor a deported grandmother.
Harjit Kaur, 73, lived in the East Bay for over 30 years, including in Hercules, before being deported to India by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year.
Garamendi stated that the empty seat is a symbol of the human cost of current immigration policies. He noted that Kaur had no criminal record and had checked in with immigration officials every six months for over 13 years. The Congressman described her deportation as a cruel act that upended the life of a long-term local resident who had followed the rules of her supervision.
Kaur, who worked for decades as a seamstress, was reportedly detained during a routine check-in in September 2025. She was eventually flown to India without her family or lawyer being told, according to her legal team. During her two weeks in custody, her family alleged she was denied medical care for her thyroid disease and was forced to sleep on the floor despite having had double knee replacement surgery.
Local protests occurred in El Sobrante, where she was highly active with the Sikh Gurdwara Sahib, and across the East Bay after news of her detention and deportation emerged.
The Congressman’s office tried to help Kaur by contacting the Indian government and federal immigration officials before she was sent away.
In an emailed statement to Richmondside, federal officials said Kaur “exhausted all legal remedies” after losing multiple appeals, adding that “ICE is stepping in to enforce the law and orders by the judge; she will not waste any more U.S. tax dollars.”
Kaur is currently in India where she continues to deal with health problems without her California family to help her.
