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Published: December 16, 2025 3:21 PM IST 
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A 60-year-old woman of Indian origin was detained by US immigration officials during the final stage of her green card process. Babblejit “Bubbly” Kaur, who has lived in the United States since 1994, was taken into custody during a biometric scan appointment linked to her pending green card application, her daughter Joti said.
According to reports, Kaur already has an approved green card petition filed by her other daughter, who is a US citizen. Her husband is also a green card holder.
Joti said her mother was at the front desk of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on December 1 when several federal agents entered the building. Shortly after, Kaur was called into a room where the agents were present and was informed that she was being arrested.
Kaur was allowed to make one phone call to her lawyer, but she was still taken into custody, her daughter said. For several hours, the family was not told where she had been taken.
Later, they learned that Kaur had been moved overnight to Adelanto, a former federal prison that is now used as an ICE detention centre, where she is currently being held.
Kaurs’ daughter claimed the family members were not informed about her mother’s whereabouts initially. It was only after a few hours that they came to know she was taken to a detention centre in Los Angeles.
At the facility, Joti claimed her mother was kept in a room with more than two dozen other people. “She is not sleeping well because the lights are not turned off at night, and there is a constant stream of noise… There is always someone screaming or wailing,” Joti said.
Living in the US for 1994
After Kaur and her family moved to the United States in 1994, they first lived in Laguna Beach. A few years later, they shifted to Long Beach when work took them to the Belmont Shore area.
Kaur and her husband have three children. Her 34-year-old daughter Joti lives in the US under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Her elder son and daughter are both US citizens.
For over 20 years, Kaur and her husband ran a small restaurant called Natraj Cuisine of India and Nepal on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. The eatery became well known and was considered a loved part of the local Long Beach community.
Kaur also worked for nearly 25 years at a Rite Aid store in Belmont Shore, until the pharmacy chain shut down its remaining outlets earlier this year. Recently, she had been getting ready to return to restaurant work at the Royal Indian Curry House.
