Indian arrested by ICE in Los Angeles — 26-year-old had criminal record of grand theft, vandalism

An Indian national, 26-year-old Parminderpal Singh, was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Los Angeles on Saturday.

The immigration agency said Singh has a criminal record, including vehicle theft and vandalism.

“ICE Los Angeles arrested Parminderpal Singh, 26, of India, on May 21. Singh's criminal record includes vehicle theft, grand theft, trespassing, and vandalism,” ICE Los Angeles said in a tweet. “He is in ICE custody pending removal.”

Earlier in September 2025, Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman who had spent three decades in the United States, shared her ordeal after she was arrested by the ICE and deported to India.

Speaking to ANI, she described her ordeal with the ICE. “Their behaviour was very bad. I was arrested on 8 September... I was arrested and taken to Bakersfield, where I stayed for 8-10 days. I was then taken to Arizona, from where I was sent to Delhi...”

She told ANI that she was given chips and cookies for food.

Kaur, who had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in the US, was arrested by US ICE officials on September 8. She moved to California in 1991 with her two young sons and lived and worked there while making several unsuccessful asylum attempts in the US.

She was moved to a holding facility in Georgia on September 19 and deported to India on September 22, never getting to visit her US home or bid a proper farewell to family and friends.

Harjit Kaur had filed multiple appeals all the way up to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and lost each time.

During the weekly media briefing in September, the Ministry of External Affairs highlighted that 2,417 Indian nationals have been deported or repatriated from the United States since January 2025. MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India's firm stance against illegal migration, emphasising commitment to promoting legal pathways for migration.

"The number of deportations that have happened from the United States since January 2017: 2417 Indian nationals are deported or repatriated from the United States... We want to promote legal pathways of migration. India stands against illegal migration," Jaiswal said.

He stated that India aims to encourage legal migration, discouraging illegal activities that undermine these efforts. He added that the government verifies nationality and takes back individuals without legal status upon receiving proper documentation.

"Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country, and he or she is referred to us with documents, and if there are claims that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, confirm the nationality and then we are in a position to take them back... This has been happening with deportations from the United States," said Jaiswal. (ANI)