French Widow of U.S. Veteran Detained 16 Days by ICE for Alleged Visa Overstay

M. on April 1 in Alabama by five men who identified themselves as immigration officers. They banged on her door and windows before handcuffing her while she was still wearing her bathrobe, slippers and pajamas.

@NBCNews reported that the arrest was for an alleged visa overstay. Two days after her arrest, Ross was transferred to a facility in Basile, Louisiana. She spent 16 days in federal immigration custody in a dormitory-style room with 58 other women, mostly mothers from South America.

At night, when silence fell, she heard children crying and even babies. “Children crying, and even babies,” Ross said. “Some of them didn’t know where their children were. ” She added, “When silence came, you could hear children crying and even babies crying.

Ross described the prison as clean with food that was OK, but said guards yelled and spoke condescendingly. “The prison was clean, the food was OK, but it was the way they spoke to us,” she told The Associated Press. ” Despite the conditions, she recalled moments of kindness.

During the night, if her bed cover slipped, she felt a small hand putting it back. The women called her “Grandma” and one gave her a handmade friendship bracelet woven from strips of colored plastic, which she kept. Ross was interviewed in Orvault, France on Monday.

She has since been released and is recovering in a suburb of Nantes in western France. Family members said she is still struggling with memory gaps and emotional distress following her detention. She said she wants to seek medical follow-up in France for symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress.

Ross added that the experience changed her and her view of politics. U.S. military veteran William B. Ross. She met him when he was stationed in France in the 1950s and she was a secretary at NATO.

Between 1962 and 2022, they stayed in touch via William’s wife, who was friends with her. After both became widowed, they decided to spend holidays together, then married last year. Ross moved to Anniston, Alabama to live with him.

William B. Ross died of natural causes in January. An Alabama judge noted in a court order that William Ross’s sons rerouted mail, causing Ross to miss an immigration-related appointment. The judge accused one of the sons — a former Alabama State Trooper now working as a federal employee — of using his position to prompt her detention.

The judge urged a federal investigation into what happened to her. The stepson denied involvement in Ross’s arrest. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot publicly called for her release. U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement methods are “not in line” with French standards. U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that Ross overstayed her 90-day visa. It said ICE detention facilities are regularly audited and inspected to comply with national standards.

All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and opportunities to communicate with family and lawyers, the department added. U.S.

U.S. citizens. Ross kept the friendship bracelet as a memento from the women who cared for her in the facility.