Texas Mother of Four Released After 45 Days in ICE Custody Fears Repeat Detention

A Texas single mother of four expressed deep fear of returning to ICE custody after more than six weeks behind bars.

"No one is safe," Meenu Batra told CBS News in an exclusive interview. She added, "I believe in the system. I believe I have the documents."

Born in India, Batra has lived and worked legally in the United States for decades as a court translator. Agents arrested her on March 17 at a Texas airport en route to a job in Milwaukee. She spent 45 days detained at El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border.

"They told me you're here illegally," Batra said from detention. "And I said, 'No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.'"

Released last week, she recalled the ordeal. "You become small," she said. "You start to believe that perhaps you are not equal, that you are not human."

Batra said most women she met in ICE custody were not violent criminals, the group the Trump administration targets. Leaving them behind left her feeling guilty.

A federal judge ordered the 53-year-old's release, ruling she had been held for no discernible reason. Her children welcomed her home but struggle with the trauma. "My daughter doesn't sleep at night time," Batra said. "She keeps watch on me. Anytime a car passes by, she becomes fearful that somebody is here to get you."

Batra fled to the U.S. as a teenager after violence killed her parents, members of India's Sikh community. She won withholding of removal status but could not pursue citizenship. Her son Jasper joined the Army recently, opening a path for her as the parent of a U.S. service member.

Her habeas petition against the U.S. government, challenging the legality of her detention, remains pending.

The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that ICE arrested Batra, an illegal alien from India, on March 17 during a targeted enforcement operation. It said an immigration judge issued her final removal order in 2000 after she entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location. "An activist judge appointed by Barack Obama released her from ICE custody on April 30," the statement said. "We will continue to fight for the removal of illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country."

Batra called the DHS statement "very disrespectful to the judges and judiciary." "They forget that aliens are humans and humans have rights," she said.