Mennu Batra’s daughter appealed for her mother’s release from the illegal ICE detention in US. (Photo: CBS)
Amrita Singh, the daughter of Meenu Batra, the Indian-origin legal interpreter of Texas who was detained by the ICE since March 17, broke her silence on people being treated inhumanely in the ‘broken’ immigration system of the US. “Who is benefiting from tearing families apart? This country was built by immigrants and I’m proud to be the daughter of one. Please help us bring my mom home,” Singh wrote in a social media post. “She immigrated to this country from India in the early 90’s after my grandparents tragically passed. Despite experiencing unimaginable grief and trauma, she came to the United States to be reunited with the rest of her family. She applied for asylum upon arrival (after 9 years of waiting), and was granted withholding of removal by an immigration judge in Newark, New Jersey in 2000. With that protection, she has worked and lived in the United States for 35 years now,” Amrita wrote. Four siblings, Amrita, Lucas, Aryan, Jasper sat for interviews with CBS News and spoke to their mother on a video call. “I have lived an honest life, working hard, raising four children myself. My work speaks for itself,” Batra said at the CBS interview. “I am here, I am legal, and I will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about. I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do,” Batra said when she was asked what her status ‘withholding of removal’ meant. Batra’s lawyers apprehend that DHS may send her to a third country, as they can’t send her back to India.
Did Meenu Batra come to the US legally?
After the incident was widely reported, it triggered a massive row on whether Batra came to the US legally. Based on what we know so far, Batra fled to the US when her parents were murdered. She applied for asylum which was not granted; but she was granted a status that she could not be removed. This status allowed Batra to stay and work in the US legally, but she could never apply for citizenship. The DHS said Batra’s legal work authorization in the US did not make her a legal resident.