Longtime courtroom interpreter detained by ICE says she worked in U.S. legally for decades: “You can’t sleep because you’re afraid”

Brownsville, Texas — In the Batra family home near Brownsville, Texas, siblings Amrita, Lucas, Aaryan and Jasper are making lunch without their mother, 53-year-old Meenu Batra. 

“It doesn’t feel right being in here without her,” Amrita told CBS News.

Meenu Batra, a single mother of four adult 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. 

Batra has been a certified court interpreter for more than 20 years, and her language skills in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu are requested nationwide.

“They told me you’re here illegally,” Batra told CBS News of her arrest in an exclusive interview Wednesday from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, located near the U.S.-Mexico border. “And I said, ‘No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.'”

Batra was born in India. When she was a teenager, her parents were killed because of their Sikh religion. She fled to the U.S. roughly 35 years ago and applied for asylum. 

In 2000, she was granted an immigration status known as “withholding of removal,” which differs from asylum.

Unlike asylum, withholding of removal recipients cannot apply for permanent U.S. residency. It also does not protect them from being deported to a third-party country. 

Batra’s attorney told CBS News that his client’s status allows her to remain and work legally as long as she doesn’t leave the U.S. or commit a crime.

Batra said her understanding of her immigration status was that she was in the U.S. legally.

“I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about,” Batra said. “And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do.”

In a statement provided to CBS News, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called Batra an “illegal alien,” adding that “employment authorization does not confer any type of legal status.”

Batra said the uncertainty is the “worst part.” 

“Every single day, you can’t sleep because you’re afraid when you go to bed, where you’re going to wake up,” Batra said.

Her arrest comes just months after her youngest son, Jasper, joined the U.S. Army. He said it feels like a betrayal.

“I thought, you know, I would serve my country and serve my people,” Jasper told CBS News. “But I didn’t know the people was everyone except my mom. I thought she was included, but I guess not.”