A 53-year-old woman of Indian origin was arrested Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Texas last month. Minu Batra, a translator in court, claims that she was detained for 24 hours without food or water after her arrest and was deprived of medication for several days.
Batra was arrested on March 17 at Harlingen International Airport while traveling to Milwaukee for work. She remains detained at the El Valley Detention Center in Raymondville.
In a In her habeas corpus petition, she also claimed that officers made her take photos of herself while she was handcuffed, The Guardian reported I mentioned.
“I can’t stay here forever”
Batra was stopped by plainclothes agents after clearing security, according to her sworn testimony. She said they did not display badges and questioned her immigration status.
When she was told that she had a deportation order, Batra responded that she had a valid work permit under “withholding deportation,” which was granted to her in 2000. “This doesn’t mean you can stay here forever,” she recalled one agent saying. “I just complied,” she said. Texas Observer.
She claimed that after her arrest, officers made her pose for photos with her hands behind her back to make it appear as if she was still handcuffed. They said the photos were for “social media.”
“This made me feel humiliated and treated like a criminal,” she said, according to The Guardian.
It was also claimed that she contracted A She developed a respiratory infection and lost her voice within days of her detention.
Describing her detention, she added: “It’s a strange feeling. I don’t know how to describe it any other way. I’m here staring at the wall wondering what exactly I’m doing here, but also what anyone is doing here.”
Who is Meenu Batra?
Meenu Batra, who fled anti-Sikh violence in India in the 1980s after her parents were killed, has lived in the United States for more than 35 years. She is the only licensed court translator in Texas native of Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, and has worked in immigration courts for more than two decades.
Her legal status prevents her from being deported to India but not to a third country. Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, said that the authorities had not revealed any destination.
Batra is a single mother of four children, according to CBS News. Her family has also been affected. One of her sons, who recently enlisted in the U.S. Army, has applied for parole on her behalf.
“I have done so much for my country… All I ask my country to do for me is to get my mother back,” her son told CBS News.
What did Donald Trump’s government say?
A A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said Batra obtained a “final order of removal from an immigration judge in 2000.”
“She will remain in ICE custody awaiting deportation and will receive full due process,” a spokesperson told the Texas Observer. “A work permit does not confer any type of legal status in the United States,” they added, saying the department encourages all “illegal aliens” to “self-deport.”
Batra’s lawyers say her detention violates due process and are demanding her release. A federal court is expected to hear her petition, and the government must respond by April 21.
