A 53-year-old Indian-origin woman, Meenu Batra, who has lived in the United States for more than 35 years, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while she was travelling to Wisconsin, for an immigration court assignment, according to reports.
Despite living in the US for decades, Batra now faces deportation because she still has a 2000 removal order, which authorities can act on under stricter immigration policies under the Donald Trump administration.
Batra, who is the only certified courtroom interpreter for Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu in Texas, and worked with the US Immigration Court for over 20 years, built a career by guiding immigrants through the legal framework.
Now, Batra finds herself on the other side of it.
INDIAN-ORIGIN WOMAN, WHOSE SON IS IN US ARMY, DETAINED WITHOUT MEDICAL CARE
Batra’s youngest son joined the US Army a few months ago and has also filed a parole application on her behalf, reported the Texas Observer.
A single mother of four adults (US citizens), Batra moved to the US from India in the 1980s after her parents were killed in the anti-Sikh riots in 1984, reported CBS News. Batra is a master-level court-certified interpreter in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, and has been providing language services in the US since 2007, according to Texas-based Indus Lingo, Batra’s professional language services business.
On March 17, Meenu Batra was detained by ICE agents at the Valley International Airport in Texas, while she was travelling to Milwaukee in Wisconsin, for an immigration court assignment. She is now being housed at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville near the US-Mexico border and remains in custody.
According to a petition filed by Batra’s immigration attorneys, who filed a habeas corpus petition in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, she was held for nearly 24 hours without food and water. They have demanded Batra’s immediate release.
They alleged Batra has since faced inconsistent access to medical care. She had some surgeries in December 2025. Her lawyers said she has fallen ill with a respiratory illness in custody and has lost her voice, reported the Texas Observer.
CAN MEENU BATRA BE DEPORTED TO INDIA?
In 2000, Batra was given a status called “withholding of removal”, which is different from asylum.
That means the US government agreed not to send her back to India because it could be unsafe for her. But unlike asylum, the status did not allow her to become a permanent resident (like getting a green card).
The 2000 order stated that she could be removed (deported) from the US. However, at the same time, the judge granted her a “withholding of removal” status, meaning the US government accepted that she could face persecution if sent back to India, so she could not be deported to her home country.
Meenu Batra can technically still be deported because the “withholding of removal” status does not cancel her deportation order. It only prevents the US from sending her back to India due to the risk of persecution. This means authorities could deport her to a third country agreeing to accept her.
Under policies pushed by the Donald Trump administration, immigration enforcement was expanded to target anyone with a final removal order, even long-settled, law-abiding residents like Batra. This has increased the risk that people with the status of “withholding of removal” could be detained and processed for removal, the Texas Observer reported.
While such cases have been rare and complicated, there have been instances where individuals with similar protections were deported to third countries under bilateral arrangements.
BATRA’S STATUS VALID FOR US STAY FOR NEXT 4 YEARS. SAY ATTORNIES
Her legal team, including Robert Ray Urenda II and Deepak Ahluwalia, filed a habeas corpus petition in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The legal team said the detention is unlawful as nothing that Batra holds is valid work with official approval under a “withholding removal” order issued decades ago by an immigration judge in New Jersey, and is valid for another four years.
Batra told the Texas Observer that the individuals who detained her were neither in uniform nor displaying visible badges. She added that one of the agents asked whether she was aware that she was in the country illegally and was subjected to deportation.
Since 2002, Batra has been living in a town called Laguna Heights, in southern Texas, near the Mexico border. Over the past two decades, she has worked as a certified interpreter and holds a master-level interpreter licence in Texas. She is also a member of the American Translators Association.
Now, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas has asked the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to respond by April 21 to respond to the habeas corpus petition.
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