'No food, water for 24 hours': Indian-origin Meenu Batra detained by ICE after 35 years in US, Democrat slams move

Slamming US President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro wrote on X: “Meenu Batra is the only Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court interpreter in Texas. She has spent most of her life in Texas, working and raising her kids. ICE detained her despite having humanitarian protection.”

He added, “Trump’s mass deportation campaign isn’t going after the worst of the worst. It’s targeting contributing members of our communities and breaking apart families.”

Batra, 53, has served as the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in a Texas court, assisting hundreds of people over the course of her career.

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

Describing her detention as “bizarre,” Batra told The Guardian: “I don’t know how else to put it. Here I am just staring at the wall wondering what exactly I’m doing here, but also what is anybody doing here.”

According to media reports, Batra moved to the United States in 1991 after her parents were killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has since spent most of her life in South Texas, raising four children. Her son recently enlisted in the US Army.

“I haven’t been able to cry much because nothing is making sense,” she told The Guardian during a call from the detention centre, where she has reportedly been held without explanation for a month.

Challenging her detention, Batra has filed a habeas corpus petition.

She also alleged that she was initially held without food or water for 24 hours and was denied medication for her cholesterol for several days, according to The Guardian. She further claimed that officers made her 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.

Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, who practices in California and Texas, told The Guardian that authorities have yet to clarify the reason for her detention or her potential deportation destination.

“It’s been a month since Meenu was detained, and they still haven’t told her where they want to send her,” Ahluwalia said.