Texas court interpreter detained by ICE says she’s been ‘treated like a criminal’

Longtime Texas court interpreter held in a federal detention facility after being taken into custody by a federal court migration officers say his arrest and detention was a “humiliating” experience.

Meenu Batra, who has lived in the United States for nearly 35 years and has a “stay of deportation” order preventing her from being deported to her native India for fear of persecution, spoke to ABC News from El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, after she was arrested by authorities at nearby Valley International Airport on March 17 while en route to Milwaukee for a business trip.

Batra, a 53-year-old single mother of four adult U.S. citizens, has been a certified court interpreter for more than 20 years, and her Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu language skills lead her to travel frequently through Harlingen airport, her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, said.

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According to Batra’s affidavit, he was questioned at the TSA checkpoint, where an ICE officer stopped him and asked, “Do you know you are here illegally?” he asked. to which he replied, “No.” He said when he told the officer that he had not been cleared for dismissal and that he had a valid work permit, the officer responded: “That doesn’t mean you can stay here forever.”

He said he was then handcuffed and taken to an unmarked white SUV. Batra states that at least four police officers were involved in his arrest; Two of them got into the car and the other two left.

Batra told ABC News he was taken to an ICE field office in Harlingen, which he recognized as having been to renew his work permit before. Officers later made him pose for a photo for “social media” with two police officers on either side of him, which left him feeling “humiliated and treated like a criminal,” he said.

Batra’s 18-year-old son, Jasper Jai Dolezal, said he was “shocked” to hear about his mother’s detention and said he was expediting his registration so he could apply for on-site military parole, which allows family members of service members, veterans and military enlisted people with permanent legal status to stay in the United States temporarily.

“I hope to see him when I graduate and when I go to boot camp. But if I’m serving in the military, working like a dog while my mother is in custody, even though my country has sworn to help all immigrants, that’s kind of sad and disappointing,” Dolezal told ABC News.

Batra described his arrest as a “sinking feeling” and said that his detention felt like the “longest month of his life”.

Batra was born in India and fled to the United States as a teenager after his parents were killed during a state pogrom against Sikhs in the 1980s, according to his lawyer. When he arrived, he requested asylum. In 2000, an immigration judge in New Jersey granted him a stay of deportation status, which is granted to people who can prove they are more likely than not to face persecution if returned to their home countries.

According to the American Immigration Council and the National Immigrant Justice Center, a person who is granted a stay of deportation “protected from return home country and receives the right to remain and work legally in the United States” – but that person “cannot petition to bring family members to the United States and cannot gain a path to citizenship.”

In response to the Trump administration’s statement immigration pressureLawyers and immigrant rights groups have filed numerous lawsuits challenging the deportation of some immigrants to so-called “third countries” that are willing to accept them outside their own, including some withholding deportations.

Batra’s lawyer says they now fear he will be sent to another country.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement: “On March 17, ICE arrested Meenu Batra, an illegal alien from India, during a targeted enforcement operation. Meenu was issued a final deportation order from an immigration judge in 2000. She last entered the country illegally from an unknown date and location. She will remain in ICE custody and receive full due process until deported. A work permit does NOT provide any legal status. America United States.”

“All detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers and toiletries, and have access to telephones to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” the statement said. The statement was included. “It is a long-standing practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes available medical, dental, and mental health services and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best health care many aliens receive in their lifetimes.”

The Department of Justice filed a motion to deny Batra’s habeas corpus petition, arguing that Batra was “lawfully detained” and subject to a “final order of deportation.” Lawyers in the filing do not mention whether the government intends to deport Batra to a third country.

“The judge issued a withholding order and that means even if there is a restraining order, it is postponed,” Ahluwalia said. “This was delayed because a judge ruled that legally the government may not deport him back to his home country because he is more likely to not be persecuted.”

Ahluwalia added that the government “has not acknowledged or explained what has changed in the 26 years that warrants his detention” and “has still not identified a third country” to which Batra could be sent.

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A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled in February that the Trump administration’s policy of sending people to third countries with no prior ties was illegal and that immigrants should be given “meaningful notice” and a chance to object to their deportation.

The Trump administration appealed that decision in March, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals blocked it from going into effect while the court reviewed the ruling.

According to Batra’s habeas corpus petition, “at no point during the past twenty-five years did ICE attempt to remove Ms. Batra, ask her to help obtain her travel documents, or tell her that removal to India or any other country was actively pursued. She was never required to report regularly to ICE; when she visited ICE offices, including Harlingen, it was only for administrative matters related to her work permit.”

In a phone interview from the detention center, Batra described the facility as a “storage facility for people” that she had to share with about a hundred women. He said several detainees attempted suicide.

Batra claimed that he was left “without food and water for almost 24 hours” and did not take medication for his cholesterol until “the evening of March 19”. Batra’s daughter, Amrita Singh, 30, told ABC News that her mother contracted the respiratory illness shortly after being held at the facility due to unsanitary conditions.

“When you talk to your children, you’re trying to be strong for them… You’re reminding them that the situation can always get worse for you every minute, depending on the type of treatment that’s being used here,” Batra said.

Singh said in an interview with ABC News that his mother was the “north star” of the family.

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“When you grow up by a single parent, your biggest fear is always, ‘What if something happens to them?’ This was my biggest fear come true,” Singh said.

“I feel like I’m not in my body, that my world has stopped and lost its color,” she added. “But I’m also very focused and dedicated and will do anything to get him out of there.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, criticized Batra’s detention, writing of

In a letter sent to ABC News by Batra’s family, the Association of Forensic Interpreters and Interpreters of Texas (TAJIT) said they are urging the courts to “review his case with the utmost care and fairness.”

“As TAJIT members, we understand that due process rights in a multilingual society require court interpreters to ensure the fair administration of justice,” the statement read in part. The statement is included. “This would not be possible without the talent and dedication of professionals, especially those like Ms. Batra who provide court interpreting services in rarer languages. Ms. Batra has consistently upheld these principles with a deep commitment to professionalism, integrity and ethical practices.”

ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.