ICE Arrests Veteran Immigration Court Interpreter at South Texas Airport During Work Travel

A longtime Texas court interpreter with over 20 years of experience was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Harlingen International Airport in South Texas on March 17, 2026, while en route to Milwaukee for a work assignment.

Meenu Batra, a 53-year-old single mother of four adult U.S. Citizens, has served as a certified interpreter in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu for immigration court proceedings for more than two decades. She is the only licensed interpreter in Texas for these three languages.

Batra has lived in the United States for approximately 35 years, having arrived in 1991 after fleeing pogroms against Sikhs in Punjab, India. In 2000, an immigration judge granted her a “withholding of removal” order, determining she would likely face persecution if deported to India.

According to Batra’s sworn affidavit, she was stopped at a TSA checkpoint by an ICE officer who questioned her immigration status. When she responded that she did not know she was in the country illegally, the officer reportedly said, “That doesn’t mean you can be here forever,” despite her presenting documentation of her withholding of removal and valid work authorization.

Batra stated she was then handcuffed and transported in an unmarked white SUV to an ICE field office in Harlingen, where she had previously renewed her work authorization. She said at least four officers were involved in her arrest, with two entering the vehicle and two remaining outside.

She was subsequently transferred to the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, where she has been held without explanation for over a month as of mid-April 2026. Batra described the experience as “degrading” and said she has felt “humiliated and treated like a criminal.”

Her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, confirmed that Batra has been a frequent traveler through Harlingen airport due to her work as an interpreter and expressed concern that authorities may be attempting to deport her to a “third country” where she has never lived, despite her withholding of removal specifically applying to India.

Batra, speaking from detention, said she has been unable to cry much because “nothing is making sense,” adding that she does not understand why she is being detained after decades of lawful residence and service to the immigration court system.

As of April 22, 2026, Batra remains in federal custody, and her case has drawn attention from immigrant advocacy groups and legal observers concerned about the detention of individuals with protected immigration status who have long contributed to judicial proceedings as certified interpreters.