Indian-Origin Court Interpreter Meenu Batra Released from ICE Custody

An Indian-origin court interpreter who has lived in the US for around 35 years has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after weeks of legal battle over her detention.

53-year-old Meenu Batra, who is known for interpreting Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu in Texas immigration courts, was freed on April 30 after being held since mid-March. Her release came after a federal judge questioned the legality of her detention, stating she had been held without clear justification or proper procedural safeguards. The judge noted she was “afforded no procedural protection” before being taken into custody and ordered her release while barring future detention without proper notice.

Batra was arrested on March 17 when ICE agents stopped her at Valley International Airport in Texas while traveling for a work assignment to Milwaukee. She was held at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville during her detention. In a phone interview while in custody, she described the experience as distressing, saying she felt “humiliated and treated like a criminal.”

Her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, said she was granted parole shortly before a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order for her release. He argued that the government had failed to explain why she was detained after decades of living and working in the US. “The federal district court's order today confirms what we have said from the beginning: the government cannot detain people first and justify it later,” Ahluwalia said. He added: “The Court has now ordered her release and made clear that due process is not optional. If the government seeks to take someone's liberty, it must provide notice and a fair opportunity to be heard.”

Batra has lived in the US for about 35 years and is the mother of four adult children who are US citizens. She has worked as a certified court interpreter for over two decades and is believed to be the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu interpreter in Texas.

US Congressman Joaquin Castro criticized her detention, saying, “Meenu Batra is the only Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court interpreter in Texas. She had spent most of her life in Texas, working and raising her kids. ICE detained her despite having humanitarian protection. Trump’s mass deportation campaign isn’t going after the worst of the worst. It’s targeting contributing members of our communities and breaking apart families.”

According to US immigration authorities, Batra was issued a final deportation order in 2000. Officials maintained she first entered the country without legal permission and said that work authorization does not amount to legal immigration status. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said she was detained during a targeted enforcement operation and insisted it would continue pursuing removal cases involving people with deportation orders. However, Batra’s legal team argued she had been living under “withholding of removal” protection, which prevents deportation to countries where an individual may face harm and allows them to remain and work in the US, but without a path to citizenship.