Meenu Batra Ice Detention Ends After 45 Days in Custody

Meenu Batra ice detention ended after a federal judge ordered the Texas mother of four released last week, following 45 days in ICE custody. Batra had been held at El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, after her March 17 arrest at a Texas airport while she was headed to Milwaukee for work.

Batra, 53, said after her release that she is still afraid of being detained again. “No one is safe,” she said, adding, “I believe in the system. I believe I have the documents.”

Raymondville Custody

The detention took place near the U.S.-Mexico border at El Valle Detention Facility, where Batra said she was told, “They told me you're here illegally,” and answered, “And I said, 'No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.'” Her habeas petition against the U.S. government is still pending.

That court filing matters because the judge ruled Batra had been detained for no discernible reason, even as the Department of Homeland Security said ICE arrested her on March 17 during a targeted enforcement operation. DHS also said Batra had been issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2000.

Jasper Batra and Citizenship

Batra said she has lived and worked legally in the United States for decades. She fled to the United States as a teenager after her parents were killed during violence against members of India’s Sikh community, later received withholding of removal status, and said that status did not allow her to apply for citizenship.

Her son Jasper joined the Army a few months ago, and parents of U.S. service members are eligible to apply for citizenship. After the detention, Batra said, “you become small. You start to believe that perhaps you are not equal, that you are not human.”

DHS Response

The Department of Homeland Security said, “An activist judge appointed by Barack Obama RELEASED her from ICE custody on April 30.” DHS also said, “She first entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location.”

Batra rejected that account, saying, “They forget that aliens are humans and humans have rights,” and described the effect on her family: “My daughter doesn't sleep at night time,” and, “She keeps watch on me. Anytime a car passes by, she becomes fearful that somebody is here to … get you.”

With her release already ordered and her habeas case still active, the next legal step sits in court, where the challenge to her detention continues even after Batra walked free.