Woman Who Worked As Courtroom Interpreter For 20 Years Detained By ICE

A courtroom interpreter was arrested by ICE in March. She has lived in the United States for about 35 years, after her immigration status was granted in 2000. However, she was still detained while on the way to a work trip.

According to CBS News, the woman is Meenu Batra, who was arrested on March 17 at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas. During her arrest, she was going on a work trip in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The woman told CBS News, “They told me you’re here illegally. And I said, ‘No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.’” According to the outlet, Batra was born in India. After her parents were killed for being Sikh, she fled to the United States.

She applied for asylum, and subsequently her immigration status, known as “withholding of removal," was granted in 2000. According to Blavity, this status is given to immigrants who face persecution in their home countries.

However, unlike asylum, it doesn’t allow them to apply for permanent residency. At the same time, it also doesn’t protect them from being deported to a third-party country. Deepak Ahluwalia, who is representing Batra, said that her immigration status allows her to legally stay and work in the United States, as long as she doesn’t leave 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,” the attorney lamented to The Texas Observer. The woman, who has worked as a certified court interpreter for over 20 years, said, “I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about. And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do.”

Batra has four children who are all adults and all U.S. citizens. A habeas petition has been filed as part of her case, legally requesting her release. Her legal team claimed that her detention was unlawful and ICE did not even specify where she would be sent.

However, according to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said that the woman is an “illegal alien” and that “employment authorization does not confer any type of legal status.”

Jasper, Batra’s son, who recently joined the U.S. Army, was very unhappy with the news of her mother’s detention, which felt like a betrayal to him. He told CBS, “I thought, you know, I would serve my country and serve my people. But I didn’t know the people were everyone except my mom. I thought she was included, but I guess not.”