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'Maman is finally free!': French widow, 86, flies home after ICE detention ordeal
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/french-widow-86-flies-home-after-ice-detention-centre-ordeal‘Maman is finally free!’: French widow, 86, flies home after ICE detention ordeal
Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé, who moved to the US to marry a GI she met in the 1950s, was arrested in her nightgown at their home
Kim Willsher in Paris and agencies
Fri 17 Apr 2026 10.50 EDT
An 86-year-old French widow arrested and detained by US immigration agents has been released and allowed to return to her home country.
Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé was arrested in her nightgown at the home she shared with her late husband, a retired US army captain, in Anniston, Alabama, more than two weeks ago after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.
…
In a statement to the court, Ross-Mahé said she had missed an appointment with immigration officials to sort out her visa after her late husband’s eldest son, Gary, had redirected all mail sent to their home. She claimed one of his sons had cut off water, electricity and internet at the property.
…
Millwood said she believed Ross’s youngest son, Tony, a retired Alabama state trooper, had misused his position as a government employee to tip off US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that she had overstayed her visa. He has denied this.
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9 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Ms. Ross-Mahé and Bill Ross in January 2024, just after purchasing a truck. Cooper Chevrolet GMC
Judge Millwood wrote in her ruling that she believed that Mr. Ross’s younger son, Tony Ross, who she said was a retired Alabama state trooper now working at a federal courthouse in Anniston, had used his position as a government employee to have Ms. Ross-Mahé arrested.
In Alabama, probate judges oversee many administrative matters, including wills, and Judge Millwood is handling the inheritance dispute because Mr. Ross did not leave one.
Under Alabama’s inheritance laws for people who die without a will, Ms. Ross-Mahé would be entitled to half of Mr. Ross’s estate, and his children would split the other half.
The day after Mr. Ross died, his sons came to the house and each drove off with one of his vehicles, a truck and a 2018 Mercedes-Benz, according to Judge Millwood.
Ms. Ross-Mahé said in a court filing last month that the older of Mr. Ross’s sons, Gary Ross, had rerouted all mail sent to his father’s home, which caused her to miss an appointment with immigration officials. Because of her citizenship status, Ms. Ross-Mahé said, she was not on her husband’s checking account and did not have access to money to pay for food, clothing or utilities. Her son said the internet, utilities and cable had been turned off at the home.
In Alabama, probate judges oversee many administrative matters, including wills, and Judge Millwood is handling the inheritance dispute because Mr. Ross did not leave one.
Under Alabama’s inheritance laws for people who die without a will, Ms. Ross-Mahé would be entitled to half of Mr. Ross’s estate, and his children would split the other half.
The day after Mr. Ross died, his sons came to the house and each drove off with one of his vehicles, a truck and a 2018 Mercedes-Benz, according to Judge Millwood.
Ms. Ross-Mahé said in a court filing last month that the older of Mr. Ross’s sons, Gary Ross, had rerouted all mail sent to his father’s home, which caused her to miss an appointment with immigration officials. Because of her citizenship status, Ms. Ross-Mahé said, she was not on her husband’s checking account and did not have access to money to pay for food, clothing or utilities. Her son said the internet, utilities and cable had been turned off at the home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/us/ice-detention-alabama-french-woman.html
What a sad story ... but a happy ending.
It's the stepson (or maybe he's a stepson-in-law?) in Texas who may have had her deported. He wanted to inherit ALL of the property from his deceased father, rather than split it with his stepmother. Dropping a dime to ICE turned out to be a convenient way to get rid of her.
