Minu Batra, 53, known for his translations of Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu in Texas immigration courts, was released on April 30 after being detained since mid-March.Her release came after a federal judge questioned the legality of her detention, saying she had been detained without clear justification or proper procedural safeguards. The judge noted that she was “not afforded any procedural protection” prior to her detention and ordered her release while prohibiting her from being detained in the future without proper notice.Batra was arrested on March 17 when she was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Valley International Airport in Texas while traveling on business to Milwaukee. She was held at the El Valley Detention Center in Raymondville while in custody.In a phone interview while in custody, she described the experience as traumatic, saying she felt “humiliated and treated like a criminal.”Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, said she was granted parole shortly before a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on her release. He said the government failed to explain why she was detained after decades of living and working in the United States.“Today’s federal district court order confirms what we have said from the beginning: The government cannot detain people first and then excuse it later,” Ahluwalia said.
“The court has now ordered her release and made clear that due process is not optional. If the government seeks to take away someone’s freedom, it must provide notice and a fair opportunity to be heard,” he added.Batra has lived in the United States for approximately 35 years and is the mother of four adult children who are US citizens. She has worked as a court-certified translator for more than two decades and is believed to be the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu translator in Texas.US Congressman Joaquin Castro criticized her detention, saying: “Mino Batra is the only Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court translator in Texas. She has spent most of her life in Texas, working and raising her children. ICE detained her despite having humanitarian protections. Trump’s mass deportation campaign does not seek out the worst of the worst. It targets contributing members of our communities and breaks up families.”
“According to US immigration authorities, a final deportation order was issued for Batra in 2000. Officials confirmed that she first entered the country without a legal permit, and said that a work permit did not amount to legal immigration status.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said she was arrested during a targeted enforcement operation and insisted it would continue to pursue deportation cases involving people who had been ordered deported.However, Batra’s legal team said she was living under “withholding of removal” protection, which prevents deportation to countries where an individual might be harmed, and allows them to remain and work in the United States, but without citizenship.
