US Immigration Detains Sikh Green Card Holder with Brain Tumour, Denies Medical Care — Family Cries Out

A 48-year-old Sikh man, Paramjit Singh, who has lived in the United States since 1994, is facing deportation and alleged medical neglect after being detained by US immigration authorities.

Singh, a US green card holder originally from India, has reportedly been held for over two months despite battling a brain tumour and a heart condition. His family accuses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of denying him adequate medical care and using outdated legal cases to justify his detention.

According to his lawyer, Louis Angeles, Singh is “only getting medical check-ups” and not the treatment he urgently needs. The BBC has reached out to ICE for a response to the allegations.

Singh, who lives in Indiana with his US citizen wife and two children, was detained at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on 30 July while returning from India. Immigration officials reportedly cited a 1999 offence involving an unpaid public phone call and a disputed 2008 forgery case as grounds for his detention.

Court records show that Singh had already served 10 days in jail and paid a $4,137 fine for the 1999 case — a matter his family says should not affect his immigration status. His niece, Kiran Virk, alleges that ICE officials misrepresented the details of the case, claiming he still had an outstanding 18-month sentence.

The family also insists that there are no records of the alleged forgery conviction, suggesting that ICE may have confused him with another person of the same name. “A private investigator found no such record for a Paramjit Singh in Illinois,” Ms Virk said.

Singh’s case is set to be heard on 14 October, but his deteriorating health has heightened family fears. His second brain surgery has been postponed due to his detention, and communication remains limited at the Clay County Detention Center where he is being held.

His lawyer described the detention as “unethical” and confirmed that legal action is underway to prevent his deportation.

The case has reignited outrage within the Sikh community following recent deportations of long-time residents, including a 73-year-old grandmother sent back to India in September. Critics say US immigration officials are targeting even lawful residents under the Trump administration’s intensified crackdown on immigrants.