86-Year-Old French Woman Detained by ICE in Louisiana After Overstaying Visa by Seven Months

French Woman Detained by ICE After Visa Overstay Marie-Thérèse Helene Ross, an 86-year-old French woman, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on April 1 after overstaying her visa.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that Ross last entered the United States in June 2025 under the Visa Waiver Program, which permitted her to remain in the country for 90 days. Seven months after entering, Ross is still illegally in the United States, according to DHS. DHS described Ross as an illegal alien from France.

She remains in custody at a detention facility in Louisiana. Usa Today reported that ICE did not notify Ross's family of her detainment. One of Ross's sons said the family found out about her detainment after French consular officials visited her.

" The son added, "For us it’s urgent to get her out of the detention center and bring her back to France.

Background of Ross's Move to United States Ross moved to Alabama to marry a serviceman she met in the 1950s.

U.S. serviceman. Ross fell in love with the serviceman in the 1950s when she worked at a NATO base in western France, according to her family. The pair were forced to separate in the 1960s after France withdrew from NATO’s integrated military command structure.

They reconnected on social media in 2010. After their respective partners died, Ross moved to Anniston, Alabama, to rekindle their relationship and get married. The man Ross moved to marry died in January.

Ross was detained by immigration agents days before a court hearing related to a dispute with one of her late husband’s children.

Separate ICE Arrest Reported In early April, ICE agents arrested the wife of a U.S.

Army sergeant at a base in Louisiana. S. as a toddler.