Texas immigration court interpreter detained by ICE says ‘they want to make me disappear’

Meenu Batra, the state’s only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu interpreter, says she was treated ‘like a criminal’

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A Texas court interpreter who was arrested by ICE after living in the US for more than 35 years is speaking out from detention, saying she has been “treated like a criminal” and fears being deported to a country where she has never been.

Meenu Batra is the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter in the state, and has served as an interpreter for hundreds of people in immigration court.