France seeks release of 86-year-old French widow detained by ICE

Wed 15 Apr 2026 17.42 EDT
Last modified on Wed 15 Apr 2026 19.07 EDT

The French government is pressing the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release the 86-year-old French widow of a military veteran from immigration custody after she was detained earlier this month.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Marie-Therese Ross in Alabama on 1 April after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to DHS. Ross is now being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Louisiana.

She is among the thousands of people targeted by the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda that has resulted in the spouses of US soldiers and military veterans detained, who previously received greater leniency under policies since scrapped by Donald Trump in his second term in office.
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Ross married Alabama resident William Ross in April last year, Calhoun county marriage records show. Ross died in January, according to an obituary from his family, which says he was a former captain in the US army.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/15/french-widow-detained-ice-marie-therese-ross?CMP=share_btn_url