Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old grandmother who has worked at Sari Palace in Berkeley for the past two decades, was detained during a routine check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sept. 8, 2025 and subsequently deported to India. She had lived in the United States since the early 1990s. In her honor, Rep. John Garamendi, who represented Kaur in the U.S. House of Representatives, left his guest seat empty at Tuesday’s State of the Union address. During Kaur’s detention, she was deprived of adequate water and vegetarian meals consistent with her religious beliefs. She wasn’t given a bed or a chair, and she was forced to sleep on the floor. She was also denied access to prescribed medications, according to Garamendi’s website. Read more through the link in bio. ✍️: Cleo Topp & Varnika Seri 📸: Hayes Gaboury . . . #ucberkeley #dailycal #berkeley #stateoftheunion #ice #trump