Top pick: Pokémon chaos! 40,000 fans flood Seoul event — Authorities pull the plug

Released at last: Meenu Batra walks free after weeks in ICE custody in US

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 03 May 2026

Released at last: Meenu Batra walks free after weeks in ICE custody in US

Meenu Batra went to US in 1991. Photo: @typocatCAv2·

Indian-origin immigration court interpreter Meenu Batra, 53, has been released after spending more than a month in detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We are overjoyed. It’s been a long six to seven weeks,” her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, told CBS News. “We knew this moment would come, though we had hoped it wouldn’t take so long.”

Batra, a mother of four US citizen children, is now pursuing legal avenues to secure permanent residency. Her lawyer said efforts are underway to obtain a green card through her youngest son, Jasper, who is enlisted in the United States Army.

“The fight is not over,” Ahluwalia said. “We have secured her release, but the focus now is on ensuring she can remain in the United States and that all forms of relief available to her are properly adjudicated. We will also challenge any attempt to deport her to a third country with which she has no ties.”

Batra has served as the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court interpreter in a Texas court, assisting hundreds of individuals over the course of her career.

She was reportedly detained at Harlingen International Airport while travelling to Milwaukee for an immigration court assignment. According to reports, ICE officers stopped her at the airport, placed her in handcuffs, and transferred her to the El Valle Detention Facility.

Challenging her detention, Batra filed a habeas corpus petition.

She has also alleged mistreatment during her detention, claiming she was held without food or water for 24 hours and denied cholesterol medication for several days, according to The Guardian. She further alleged that officers forced her to pose for photographs with her hands behind her back to give the impression she was still handcuffed, saying the images were “for social media.”

“This made me feel humiliated and treated like a criminal,” she said.