State of the Union viewers won’t see U.S. Rep. John Garamendi at tonight’s presidential address. The Congressman, whose 8th District includes Richmond and west Contra Costa County, said he’s leaving his seat empty in honor of a 73-year-old grandmother who was deported last year.
Harjit Kaur, who worked at a popular sari store in Berkeley and had ties to El Sobrante and Hercules, had no criminal record. She was detained in September during a routine document appointment in San Francisco and, her family said, was held in an ICE facility without a bed or chair and no access to her medication, food or water.
In a press release, Garamendi said:
“I am dedicating my State of the Union guest seat to my former constituent, 73-year-old grandmother Harjit Kaur. She is unfortunately unable to attend because she was cruelly deported to India in the dead of night. This seat is for her and every person across the country that’s been caged, detained, and killed at the hands of Trump’s secret police force. Let her empty seat be a stark symbol of the human cost of Trump’s cruel deportation agenda.
“President Trump promised to go after the ‘worst of the worst’ in his immigration policy. Yet his administration’s decision to cruelly deport a 73-year-old grandmother with no criminal record — who faithfully reported to ICE every six months for more than 13 years — is one more example of the thousands of individuals across the country whose lives and families have been upended by Trump’s ICE.
“Unfortunately, this has become far too common under Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. I dedicate this seat to Harjit, to her family, and to everyone affected by this rogue administration.”
After being held in detention facilities for about 10 days, Garamendi said at 2 a.m. on Sept. 19 Kaur was transported in handcuffs from Bakersfield to Los Angeles and flown to Georgia without notice to her attorney or family.
Then, although her family had arranged commercial travel and planned to accompany her to India, she was placed on a charter flight to India and not given an opportunity to say goodbye.
During Harjit’s detention, Garamendi said, his offices contacted the Indian Embassy and Consulate regarding travel documents and pleaded her case to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, expressing concerns about broader conditions in ICE detention facilities nationwide.
Following her return to India, she has remained in contact with her family but has continued to experience health issues without nearby relatives to assist her, Garamendi said.
What to expect from State of the Union address
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, set for Tuesday night at 6 p.m. PST, is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s elections for control of the House and the Senate.
The president and his party appear vulnerable, with polls showing much of America distrusts how Trump has managed the government in his first year back in office. In addition, the Supreme Court last week struck down one of the chief levers of his economic and foreign policy by ruling he lacked the power to impose many of his sweeping tariffs.
Though Trump is expected to focus on domestic issues, his intensifying threats about launching military strikes on Iran over its nuclear program cast a shadow over the address.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will give the Democratic Party response following Trump’s speech. California Sen. Alex Padilla, who made national headlines last year after being forced to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents, will deliver the party’s response in Spanish.
Garamendi unlikely to be only Democrat absent
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said there will be some members who sit in “silent defiance,” and others who choose not to attend Trump’s speech.
“Some are coming and some are not,” Senate Democratic Leader Schumer said.
Speaker Mike Johnson had criticized those boycotting, but Jeffries said it’s each member’s choice based on what makes the most sense for their constituents back home.
Jeffries said the Republicans, in the majority in Congress, are in no position to lecture because rather than operate as a separate and co-equal branch of government, they’re a “reckless rubberstamp” for Trump’s agenda.
In announcing his planned absence on Facebook Tuesday, Garamendi, who plans to run for reelection in the upcoming June primary, said, “This empty chair honors her and all those detained, deported, and killed by Donald Trump’s secret police enforcing his cruel deportation agenda.”
The response from his followers was mixed, with some thanking him and others criticizing his decision.
“You are abdicating your responsibilities and not representing ANY of the people who elected you to GOVERN. You are a disgrace, and I will NOT be voting for you again,” wrote Chris Mamere of Benicia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
