ICE Detains Freelance Immigration Interpreter Meenu Batra Under 2000 Removal Order at Texas Airport

Meenu Batra, a 53-year-old freelance immigration court interpreter, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 17 at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas. Batra was traveling to Wisconsin for a legal assignment when she was stopped after passing through airport security.

Federal agents informed Batra that she was subject to a prior removal order dating back to 2000.

Batra responded that she holds valid work authorization, which she has regularly renewed since an immigration judge in New Jersey granted her withholding of removal more than two decades ago. The work authorization remains valid for several more years. The agents who detained Batra were not in uniform and did not display visible badges.

One agent questioned her about her legal status and whether she was aware of a deportation order. Batra has lived in the United States for roughly 35 years after fleeing violence connected to her Sikh religion in India, where her parents were killed when she was a teenager.

Batra works as a freelance interpreter in immigration courts, translating proceedings involving Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu speakers.

U.S. Army months before her arrest. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated that Batra has a final order of removal from 2000 and that she will remain in ICE custody pending removal while receiving full due process.

She is currently detained at the El Valle detention center in Raymondville, Texas.