“24 Hours Without Food”: Indian-Origin Woman’s Detention in US

An Indian-origin woman, Meenu Batra, has been detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Texas, last month, sparking a debate on the lawfulness of her custody. Batra alleged that after her arrest, she was forced to remain without food or water for 24 hours and even denied medication for several days. She allegedly fell sick with a respiratory infection and lost her voice during detention.

Batra, 53, lived in the US for more than 35 years. In 1980s, she moved to the US after her parents were killed in the anti-Sikh violence in India. She is the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in Texas, helping hundreds of immigrants in the court.

She was detained at Harlingen International Airport while travelling to Milwaukee on an immigration court assignment on March 17. The ICE officers, in plainclothes, intercepted and handcuffed her, despite Batra trying to clarify that she had a valid status and a legal work permit. Then she was shifted to the El Valle detention facility in Raymondville.

Speaking to a media house in the US during her confinement in the jail, she said her detention was bizarre and that she was treated like a criminal. Further, she fears officials would deport her to a country she has never visited.

Her legal status prevents deportation to India but not to a third country. In a habeas corpus petition, she alleged that officers asked her to pose for photographs with her handcuffs. They told that those photos were for social media. Batra said that it made her fee humiliated. “I couldn’t even cry as I could not make sense of anything at that moment.”

The officers who stopped her did not display any badges but questioned her immigration status. The officers told her she had a deportation order and Batra informed that she had valid work authorization under ‘withholding of removal’ granted in 2000. But the ICE officers said “That doesn’t mean you can be here forever.”

Batra is a single mother who raised four children. One of her sons, was recently enlisted in the US army. He said that he had done a lot for his country and wanted her mom back. He applied for a parole on her behalf.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said Batra has a final order of removal from an immigration judge in 2000. However, she will remain in ICE custody pending removal. Employment authorization does not confer any type of legal status in the US, he added. The US authorities are encouraging all illegal aliens to self deport.

However, her advocates said her detention violates the due process and sought her release. Deepak Ahluwalia, a California and Texas-based immigration lawyer representing Batra said that it has been a month since Meenu was detained and they still are not telling her where they want to send her.

After Trump came to power last year, the US cut deals with countries including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, South Sudan and Rwanda, to accept US deportees. A federal court is likely to hear Batra’s petition, and the government is required to respond by April 21.