Judge outraged as 85-year-old French widow tossed in detention amid inheritance dispute
An 85-year-old French woman detained by U.S. immigration officials for 16 days has returned to her native country, whose government alleges violent misconduct in the case.
Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé arrived Friday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, where she was greeted by her three adult children still wearing detention center clothing, and French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated "there were acts of violence" in the case that concerned government authorities, reported the New York Times.
"The main thing is that she is back in France, and that is fully satisfying to us," Barrot said.
Ross-Mahé, a French citizen, had moved to Anniston, Alabama, last year after marrying Bill Ross, a former American serviceman she had met in the 1950s at a NATO base in France, and the couple reconnected decades later after both were widowed.
She began the formal immigration process after their marriage, but her husband died unexpectedly in January, setting off a bitter dispute with his two adult sons over his estate, which included a home worth approximately $173,000, two cars, and a bank account containing about $1,500.
On April 1, immigration officials arrested Ross-Mahé at her home, removing her while she was dressed only in her nightgown and robe. She was transported to a detention center in Louisiana.
An Alabama probate judge overseeing the estate concluded that one of Ross's sons — a retired state trooper employed at a federal courthouse in Anniston — was responsible for her arrest. The judge noted that law enforcement officers informed the son, Tony Ross, of the impending detention a day before the arrest occurred.
Shirley A. Millwood, a Republican county probate judge elected in 2024, found that the Ross brothers had deliberately rerouted mail to prevent Ross-Mahé from receiving correspondence related to her citizenship application, causing her to miss an immigration hearing.
Millwood denied the sons' request to administer the estate, instead appointing an independent administrator, and ordered the federal government to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ross-Mahé's arrest and detention.
It's not clear whether Ross-Mahé was deported or had left the country voluntarily.