Meenu Batra, a court interpreter of Punjabi origin living in Texas, America, was suddenly arrested after 35 years. The American Immigration Agency handcuffed him, detained him at the airport and sent him to jail. Meenu is accused of living in America in violation of immigration law, due to which preparations are now being made for her deportation. However, her lawyers claim that Meenu has the legal protection of ‘withholding of removal’ and the court has already made it clear not to send her to India. However, the court has not yet issued any final order regarding his deportation. Meenu is an interpreter of Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu in Texas courts and her elder son is an officer in the US Army. When what happened and why Meenu got trapped, know in sequence… Meenu Batra’s lawyer Deepak Ahluwalia said that the officers treated her very badly. They forcibly got Meenu’s photo clicked with her hands behind her back so that she would look like a criminal and said that it was for social media. Inside the jail, Meenu is now helping other women who do not know English. She says that people there are in depression and many have even tried to commit suicide. The government’s argument is that Meenu does not have citizenship. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says in the court that Meenu has a final removal order of 2000. He clearly said that having a work permit does not mean that one can live in America legally forever. The government is now asking the migrants to self-deport. Legal procedure was not followed. Deepak Ahluwalia says that after getting the withholding of removal, it can be withdrawn only in two ways. If someone has committed a crime, ICE can file a motion to have it withdrawn. The second is to file a ‘Country Condition’, in which it is said that the situation has now changed and Meenu is no longer in danger in her native country. He says no such motion was filed by immigration authorities nor was any notice sent to him by ICE during the 26 years he was there. These people came in favor of Meenu Batra. According to Meenu Batra’s profile on the American Translators Association, she has a Master Level Court Interpreter license from the State of Texas. Local politicians, social workers and translators’ organizations have also raised their voice against Meenu’s detention. Meenu Batra has also been a board member of the Texas Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (TAJIT).
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Punjabi woman imprisoned in America’s jail: Suddenly arrested after 35 years, handcuffed at the airport; Son officer in US Army – Ludhiana News
