A longtime Texas court interpreter who is in federal custody after being detained by federal immigration officials says her arrest and detention have been a “humiliating” experience.
Meenu Batra, who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 35 years and has a “removal” order preventing her from being deported to her home country of India for fear of persecution, spoke to ABC News from the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, after authorities arrested her on March 17.
Batra, a 53-year-old single mother of four adult U.S. citizens, has been a certified court interpreter for more than 20 years, and her Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu language skills have earned her frequent trips through Harlingen Airport, her lawyer Deepak Ahluwalia said.
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According to Batra’s affidavit, he was questioned at a TSA checkpoint, where an ICE officer stopped him and asked, “Do you know you are here illegally?” To which he replied, “No.” She said she told the officer she had been granted a stay of removal and had a valid work authorization, to which he replied, “That doesn’t mean you can be here forever.”
She said she was then handcuffed and taken to an unmarked white SUV. Batra says at least four officers were involved in her arrest. Two people got into the car and the other two left.
Batra told ABC News that she was taken to the ICE field office in Harlingen where she recognized she had previously gone to renew her work authorization. The officers then made her pose for a photo, with two officers on either side of her, for “social media”, which made her feel “humiliated and treated like a criminal”.
Batra’s 18-year-old son, Jasper Jay Dolezal, said he was “shocked” to hear of his mother’s detention and said he had expedited his military enlistment so he could apply for a military parole-in-place application that allows family members of service members, legal service members and legally veterans temporary permission to stay in the US.
Courtesy Amrita Singh – Photo: Meenu Batra is shown in this unidentified file photo.
“I hope to see her when I go to my graduation and boot camp. But if I’m serving my military, working like a dog while my mom is in detention, even though my country swears to help any and all immigrants, it’s kind of awkward and frustrating,” Dolezal told ABC News.
Batra described her arrest as a “sinking feeling” and said her detention felt like “the longest month of her life”.
According to her lawyer, Batra was born in India and fled to the United States as a teenager after her parents were killed in the 1980s in a state-run massacre against Sikhs. When he arrived, he applied for asylum. In 2000, an immigration judge in New Jersey granted him withholding of removal status, which is granted to individuals who can prove they would face persecution if returned to their home country.
According to the U.S. Immigration Council and the National Immigrant Justice Center, a person with a stay of removal is “protected from returning to his or her home and has the right to remain and work legally in the United States”—but that person “cannot petition to bring family members to the United States, and does not receive a path to citizenship.
In response to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, lawyers and immigrant rights groups have filed numerous lawsuits challenging so-called “third countries” — countries other than their own that are willing to accept them, including a freeze on the removal of some immigrants.
Batra’s lawyer has said that he is now afraid of being sent to another country.
Google Maps Street View – Photo: El Valle Detention Facility is shown in Raymondville, Texas.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement, “On March 17, ICE arrested Meenu Batra, an illegal alien from India, during a targeted enforcement operation. Meenu was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2000. She last entered the country illegally and will remain in an undisclosed location. The employment agency does not provide any type of legal status in the United States.”
“All detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers and toiletries, and have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” the statement said. “It is longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes available medical, dental, and mental health services, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is better health care than most aliens receive in their entire lives.”
The Justice Department has filed a motion to dismiss Batra’s habeas corpus petition, arguing that Batra is “lawfully detained” and subject to a “final order of removal.” Prosecutors would not say whether Batra wanted to be deported to a third country.
“The judge granted the stay, and what that means is, if there’s an entry of removal, it’s stayed,” Ahluwalia said. “It’s been postponed because a judge has ruled legally that the government can’t send him back to his country, because he’s more likely not to be persecuted.”
Ahluwalia added that the government “has not acknowledged or explained what has changed in the detention warrant in 26 years” and “still has not identified a third country” to which Batra could be sent.
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A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled in February that the Trump administration’s policy of removing people to third countries with which they have no prior ties is illegal and that immigrants should be given “meaningful notice” and an opportunity to object to their deportation.
The Trump administration appealed that order in March, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the decision from taking effect while the court reviewed the ruling.
According to Batra’s habeas corpus petition, “During the past twenty-five years, ICE has not attempted to remove Ms. Batra, asked for assistance in obtaining travel documents, or actively sought removal from India or any other country. She has never been required to report to ICE regularly; she has only visited ICE-related offices, Hermini, and other authorities for work.”
In a phone interview from the detention center, Batra described the facility as a “storage facility for people” that she had to share with about a hundred other women. She said that some detainees tried to commit suicide.
Batra alleged that she went “nearly 24 hours without food or water” and did not receive medication for her cholesterol until “the evening of March 19.” Amrita Singh, Batra’s 30-year-old daughter, told ABC News that her mother developed a respiratory illness soon after being admitted to the facility due to unsanitary conditions.
“When you talk to your kids, you try to be strong for them … the way you’re treated here, you’re reminded every minute that it could always be worse for you,” Batra said.
Singh told ABC News in an interview that her mother was the “North Star” of the family.
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“When you’re raised by a single parent, your biggest fear is always like, what if something happens to them? That’s my biggest fear,” Singh said.
“I feel like I’m not in my body and my world just stops and it loses color,” she added. “But at the same time, I’m very focused and dedicated and will do anything to get her out.”
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, criticized Batra’s detention, writing in X, “Meenu Batra is the only Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in Texas. She lived most of her life in Texas, worked and raised her children. ICE detained her despite human security. The biggest campaign since the Trump campaign. It’s targeting our community members and tearing families apart.”
In a letter provided by Batra’s family to ABC News, the Texas Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (TAJIT) said they are asking the courts to “review his case with the utmost care and fairness.”
“As members of TAJIT, we recognize that due process rights in a multilingual society require court interpreters for the fair administration of justice,” the statement read in part. “This would not be possible without the talent and dedication of professionals, especially those who provide court interpretation services in rare languages like Ms. Batra. Ms. Batra continues to uphold these principles with a deep commitment to professionalism, integrity and ethical practice.”
ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.
