85-Year-Old French Widow of US Veteran Detained 16 Days in Immigration Custody

An 85-year-old French widow of a U.S. military veteran was arrested last month in Alabama as part of the current administration's immigration enforcement actions and spent 16 days in federal immigration custody before her release. The woman was taken into custody on April 1 following an alleged visa overstay.

, handcuffed her while she was still in her bathrobe, slippers and pajamas, and placed her in a vehicle, she told The Associated Press. She was transferred two days later to a detention facility in Basile, Louisiana. The facility housed her in a dormitory-style room with 58 other women, most of them mothers.

She reported that nights were often interrupted by the cries of children and babies, some of whom appeared to be separated from their families. "Children crying, and even babies," she recalled. " The woman had traveled to the United States after marrying a retired U.S. soldier she first met in the 1950s when he was stationed in France.

They wed in April 2025. He died of natural causes in January, after which a dispute arose over his estate. An Alabama judge found that her stepson, a U.S. federal employee, had intervened in a manner that prompted her placement in immigration custody.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, she had overstayed her 90-day visa at the time of her arrest. The French foreign minister publicly called for her release, stating that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement methods are “not in line” with French standards.

She was freed later in April and has since returned to a suburb of Nantes in western France to recover with her family.

“The prison was clean, the food was okay, but it was the way they spoke to us,” she told the AP. She said the environment was noisy, with everyone talking loudly, but that silence revealed the sounds of children and babies crying. Despite the conditions, she noted moments of solidarity among detainees.

“During the night, if my bed cover slipped away, I felt a small hand putting it back,” she said. She kept a handmade friendship bracelet given to her by another detainee. Family members said she is still experiencing memory gaps and emotional distress.

She plans to seek medical follow-up in France for symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress and continues to think about the women she met in custody, most of them from South America and many separated from their children. The experience has changed her perspective on the United States and its immigration policies.

Her late husband had been a supporter of the current president and the couple had watched certain news channels together. She said she was shocked by the treatment of immigrants she observed firsthand and stated that the women she met did not deserve to be detained.

The AP sought comment Tuesday from the Department of Homeland Security, which had not previously responded to requests.