TX Court Finds Process Violations, Directs ICE To Release Meenu Batra

India-West News Desk

HARLINGEN, TX – Meenu Batra, a longtime Texas court interpreter who has lived in the United States for more than three decades, has been released from federal immigration custody after nearly two months, following a court order that found violations of her due process rights.

Batra, believed to be the only licensed interpreter in Texas fluent in Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu, was freed on April 30 after a federal judge ruled that authorities failed to justify her detention or follow proper legal procedures.

Her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, confirmed the release to CBS News and described the moment as emotional after weeks of uncertainty. “We are overjoyed. It’s been a long six to seven weeks,” Ahluwalia told CBS News. “We knew that this moment would come. We were hoping it wouldn’t take as long.”

Batra, a mother of four adult U.S. citizen children, was arrested March 17 by federal immigration officers at Valley International Airport in Harlingen while traveling to Milwaukee for work. According to her attorney, the court found she had been detained without prior notice, an interview, or a formal legal process.

Ahluwalia said a federal district judge ordered her immediate release on April 30, concluding that her constitutional rights had been violated.

Legal efforts are now underway to secure Batra’s permanent residency. Ahluwalia said the team plans to seek a green card through her youngest son, Jasper, who serves in the U.S. Army, and will request expedited processing that could take several months.

Despite her release, Ahluwalia emphasized that the legal battle is ongoing. “The fight is not over,” he told CBS News. “We’ve gotten Meenu out, but now it’s a matter of keeping her here, making sure that all forms of relief that she is eligible for are adjudicated while she’s sitting here and fighting any attempt to send her to a third country that she has no previous relationship or no association with, and we will fight to the end to that.”

He added that authorities cannot detain Batra again without issuing formal notice and conducting an interview in the presence of legal counsel.