Washington: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested Atharva Vyas, a 24-year-old Indian national, for the alleged violent assault of a mother and her three-year-old daughter at a park in San Antonio, Texas.
ICE described Vyas as an “illegal alien” and said the incident took place on April 18. According to ICE, Vyas allegedly attacked the mother, identified as Gabriella Perez, and her toddler daughter — including biting the child and knocking out two of her teeth. ICE has lodged a detainer with local law enforcement requesting that Vyas be transferred to ICE custody rather than released into the community after facing charges.
Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called the incident a “barbaric assault against this woman and her three-year-old in a park” and said it was completely preventable.
Who Is Atharva Vyas?
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, Vyas first entered the United States in August 2023 on a student visa. Within three months of his arrival, he was arrested on the University of Texas campus on a felony assault charge.
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DHS said the University of Texas Police contacted ICE at the time, but the Biden administration determined the crime was not “egregious” enough to warrant visa revocation and took no enforcement action against him.
In April 2025, the Trump administration revoked Vyas’s F-1 student visa citing his earlier arrest for assault.
Broader Immigration Context
The arrest comes amid heightened scrutiny of immigration enforcement in Texas. Separately, Meenu Batra, a 53-year-old Indian-origin legal interpreter and reportedly the only Texas court-certified professional fluent in Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu, was detained by ICE on March 17. Immigration authorities said Batra is subject to a final deportation order issued in 2000. Her detention has sparked debate over immigration enforcement and humanitarian protections.
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