2026年4月15日 / 美国东部时间晚上8:08 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
得克萨斯州布朗斯维尔——在得克萨斯州布朗斯维尔附近的巴特拉家中，阿姆里塔、卢卡斯、阿里扬和贾斯珀四兄妹正在做午饭，而他们的母亲、53岁的米努·巴特拉并不在身边。
“家里没有她，总觉得不对劲，”阿姆里塔告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻。
米努·巴特拉是四个已成年美国公民的单身母亲，3月17日在前往威斯康星州密尔沃基出差的途中，于得克萨斯州哈灵根市谷际机场被联邦移民官员逮捕。
巴特拉从事认证法庭口译工作已有20多年，她精通印地语、旁遮普语和乌尔都语的技能在全美范围内都十分抢手。
“他们跟我说‘你在这里是非法居留’，”巴特拉在得克萨斯州雷蒙德维尔市（靠近美墨边境）的美国移民及海关执法局埃尔瓦莱拘留中心接受独家采访时回忆被捕时的场景，“我回答说‘不对，警官，我包里就带着证件呢’。”
巴特拉出生于印度。十几岁时，她的父母因锡克教信仰遇害。大约35年前，她逃到美国并申请了庇护。
2000年，她获得了被称为“驱逐禁制”的移民身份，这一身份与庇护不同。
与庇护不同的是，获得驱逐禁制身份的人无法申请美国永久居留权，且该身份也不能保护他们不会被遣返至第三国。
巴特拉的律师告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，他的当事人的身份允许她合法留在美国并工作，前提是她不离开美国且不犯罪。
巴特拉表示，她原本以为自己的移民身份让她可以合法留在美国。
“我在这里，而且我是合法的，不会被驱逐，所以我没什么可担心的，”巴特拉说，“我可以正常生活、工作，这就是我想要的全部。”
美国国土安全部在给哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的一份声明中称巴特拉为“非法外籍人士”，并补充道“就业授权并不赋予任何类型的合法身份”。
巴特拉说，这种不确定性是“最糟糕的部分”。
“每一天，你上床睡觉时都提心吊胆，不知道醒来时会身处何方，根本没法睡着，”巴特拉说道。
就在她被捕的几个月前，她的小儿子贾斯珀加入了美国陆军。贾斯珀说，这件事感觉就像是一种背叛。
“我曾以为，我会为我的国家、我的人民服务，”贾斯珀告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，“但我不知道这里的‘人民’不包括我的母亲。我以为她也被算在内，但看来并不是。”
卡米洛·蒙托亚-加尔维斯为本报道撰稿。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/family-speaks-out-single-mom-remains-detained-month/
Longtime courtroom interpreter detained by ICE says she worked in U.S. legally for decades: “You can’t sleep because you’re afraid”
April 15, 2026 / 8:08 PM EDT / CBS News
Brownsville, Texas — In the Batra family home near Brownsville, Texas, siblings Amrita, Lucas, Aaryan and Jasper are making lunch without their mother, 53-year-old Meenu Batra.
“It doesn’t feel right being in here without her,” Amrita told CBS News.
Meenu Batra, a single mother of four adult U.S. citizens, was arrested March 17 by federal immigration officers at Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas,while on her way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a work trip.
Batra has been a certified court interpreter for more than 20 years, and her language skills in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu are requested nationwide.
“They told me you’re here illegally,” Batra told CBS News of her arrest in an exclusive interview Wednesday from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, located near the U.S.-Mexico border. “And I said, ‘No, sir, I have my documents with me, in my bag right now.’”
Batra was born in India. When she was a teenager, her parents were killed because of their Sikh religion. She fled to the U.S. roughly 35 years ago and applied for asylum.
In 2000, she was granted an immigration status known as “withholding of removal,” which differs from asylum.
Unlike asylum, withholding of removal recipients cannot apply for permanent U.S. residency. It also does not protect them from being deported to a third-party country.
Batra’s attorney told CBS News that his client’s status allows her to remain and work legally as long as she doesn’t leave the U.S. or commit a crime.
Batra said her understanding of her immigration status was that she was in the U.S. legally.
“I am here, and I am legal and will not be removed, so I have nothing to worry about,” Batra said. “And I can live and I can work. And that is all I wanted to do.”
In a statement provided to CBS News, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called Batra an “illegal alien,” adding that “employment authorization does not confer any type of legal status.”
Batra said the uncertainty is the “worst part.”
“Every single day, you can’t sleep because you’re afraid when you go to bed, where you’re going to wake up,” Batra said.
Her arrest comes just months after her youngest son, Jasper, joined the U.S. Army. He said it feels like a betrayal.
“I thought, you know, I would serve my country and serve my people,” Jasper told CBS News. “But I didn’t know the people was everyone except my mom. I thought she was included, but I guess not.”
Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed to this report.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/family-speaks-out-single-mom-remains-detained-month/
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