Courtroom Interpreter Detained By ICE While She Was On Work Trip: 'You Can't Sleep Because You're Afraid'

A court interpreter who has lived in the United States for about 35 years was arrested by federal immigration officers in March. She faces deportation despite having been granted immigration status in 2000. Here’s what we know.

Meenu Batra was arrested and detained while on a work trip in March

Meenu Batra was arrested on March 17 at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas. She was on her way to a work trip in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to CBS News.

“They told me you’re here illegally,” she told CBS News. “And I said, ‘No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.’”

Batra, who was born in India, fled to the U.S. after her parents were killed for being Sikh. She applied for asylum and was granted an immigration status known as “withholding of removal” in 2000. The status is often granted to immigrants who face persecution in their home countries. The main difference with asylum is that it doesn’t allow them to apply for permanent residency. It also doesn’t protect them from being deported to a third-party country.

Batra’s attorney said her status allows her to legally stay and work in the U.S. as long as she doesn’t leave the country or commit a crime.

“This is someone who maybe had one speeding ticket in the last 30 years and [is] being treated like a notorious criminal,” attorney Deepak Ahluwalia told The Texas Observer.

Batra has worked as a certified court interpreter for over 20 years. She is a mother to four adult children who are all U.S. citizens.

“I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about,” she said about her immigration status, per CBS News. “And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do.”

Meenu Batra is arguing that her detention is unlawful

A petition for habeas corpus was filed as part of Batra’s case. It is a legal request for her release, which claims her detention is unlawful. The filing says ICE did not specify where it plans on sending Batra. The Department of Homeland Security has until April 21 to respond to the habeas petition.

The DHS has referred to Batra as an “illegal alien” and said that “employment authorization does not confer any type of legal status,” as CBS News reported.

Batra’s son Jasper, who recently joined the U.S. Army, said his mother’s detention feels like a betrayal.

“I thought, you know, I would serve my country and serve my people,” he told CBS News. “But I didn’t know the people was everyone except my mom. I thought she was included, but I guess not.”