French widow, 86, ‘cuffed at wrists and ankles’ by ICE after her US veteran husband died
An elderly French woman who was married to a US veteran was arrested by Immigration Enforcement in Alabama shortly after her husband died.
Identified by her family as Marie-Thérèse, the elderly widow was allegedly handcuffed on her wrists and ankles and placed into an overcrowded centre.
Her family is very concerned for her welfare, and the French consulate in the United States is involved in the matter.
The Department for Homeland Security said Marie-Therese Helene Ross was an ‘illegal alien’.
In a statement, they added: ‘She last entered the country in June 2025 under the Visa Waiver Program, which permitted her to remain in the country for 90 days. Seven months later, she is still illegally in the United States.’
Ross reportedly moved to the US in 2025 after reconnecting with her ‘sweetheart’ Billy, a US soldier who was working at a NATO base in France in the 1950s.
Billy passed away in January, before Ross’s green card application to live with him had been decided.
She was transferred to a facility in Louisiana after her arrest on April 1, and her children say they’re concerned about her heart and back problems.
Her son told French media: ‘They handcuffed her hands and feet like she was a dangerous criminal.
‘Our priority is to get her out of this detention centre and repatriate her to France. Given her health, she won’t last a month in such conditions of detention.’
Her family and France are fighting for Ross to be released on humanitarian grounds, but the DHS has doubled down and said they are encouraging people to self-deport.
‘The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now,’ they said.
‘We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S., the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.’
Other foreign nationals who are married to US citizens have been arrested by ICE – including an Irish man who has lived in the country for more than 20 years.
Seamus Culleton, from County Kilkenny, had lived in the US for two decades when he was arrested last September by ICE.
He has no criminal record and runs a successful business in Boston, but was arrested in September by ICE agents.
After telling them he was married to a US citizen, had a work permit and was in the process of getting his green card, he was detained.
It’s been five months since he was taken to an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas, and he says he ‘doesn’t know how much more’ he can take.
‘It’s an absolute torture, psychological and physical torture. I just want to get back to my wife. We’re so desperate to start a family,’ he said.
Seamus said he’s shared a 16x35ft tent with 72 other people and has lost weight due to the harsh conditions in the Texas facility.
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