Breaking News: Texas Interpreter Meenu Batra Released from ICE Custody

We’re breathing a collective sigh of relief. Meenu Batra, who was being held at a facility after being detained by federal immigration officers in March, is free!

After weeks of advocacy and legal battles, our colleague and ATA member, a licensed Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court interpreter, was released on April 30. Her resilience during this time has been nothing short of inspiring. Thank you to everyone who raised their voice, signed petitions, and stood by a professional who has dedicated over 30 years to helping others navigate the complexities of the law. Welcome home, Meenu!

Please see a synopsis of the CBS News coverage below.

Texas Mother of 4 Released from ICE Custody After More than a Month in Detention

By Shanelle Kaul, Kierra Frazier
April 30, 2026 / 6:30 PM EDT / CBS News

Meenu Batra, a longtime Texas court interpreter and mother of four who was arrested in March by federal immigration officers, was released on April 30, her attorney confirmed.

“We are overjoyed. It’s been a long six to seven weeks,” Batra’s attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, told CBS News. “We knew that this moment would come. We were hoping it wouldn’t take as long.”

Batra, whose four adult children are U.S. citizens, was arrested March 17 by federal immigration officers at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas, while on her way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a work trip.

Ahluwalia said that a federal district judge ordered Batra’s immediate release. According to Ahluwalia, the judge stated that Batra’s due process rights were violated because she was arrested without prior notice, an interview, or a formal process.

Ahluwalia said they are working on getting Batra a green card through her youngest son, Jasper, who is enlisted in the U.S. Army. Ahluwalia said they’ll ask to expedite the application and hope to get approved in the next four to six months. He added that Batra cannot be arrested again unless a formal notice is given and an interview is conducted in the presence of an attorney.

“The fight is not over,” Ahluwalia said. “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.”

Batra spoke to CBS News earlier while in detention at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, saying her understanding of her immigration status was that “I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about. And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do.”

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