Detained for weeks: Indian-origin court interpreter Meenu Batra finally walks free in US

“We are overjoyed. It’s been a long six to seven weeks,” her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, told CBS News. “We knew this moment would come, though we had hoped it wouldn’t take so long.”

Batra, a mother of four US citizen children, is now pursuing legal avenues to secure permanent residency. Her lawyer said efforts are underway to obtain a green card through her youngest son, Jasper, who is enlisted in the United States Army.

“The fight is not over,” Ahluwalia said. “We have secured her release, but the focus now is on ensuring she can remain in the United States and that all forms of relief available to her are properly adjudicated. We will also challenge any attempt to deport her to a third country with which she has no ties.”

Batra has served as the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court interpreter in a Texas court, assisting hundreds of individuals over the course of her career.

She was reportedly detained at Harlingen International Airport while travelling to Milwaukee for an immigration court assignment. According to reports, ICE officers stopped her at the airport, placed her in handcuffs, and transferred her to the El Valle Detention Facility.

Challenging her detention, Batra filed a habeas corpus petition.

She has also alleged mistreatment during her detention, claiming she was held without food or water for 24 hours and denied cholesterol medication for several days, according to The Guardian. She further alleged that officers forced her to pose for photographs with her hands behind her back to give the impression she was still handcuffed, saying the images were “for social media.”

“This made me feel humiliated and treated like a criminal,” she said.