An octogenarian woman from the Nantes region was arrested on April 1 by the American immigration police (ICE) for not having a green card, a permanent visa that would allow her to stay in the United States. She was married to an American who passed away in January.
Marie-Thérèse, an 86-year-old French woman from Orvault near Nantes, was apprehended by ICE on Wednesday, April 1 and placed in a detention center in Louisiana, USA, according to France Inter from a diplomatic source, confirming a report from Ouest-France. The immigration police accuses her of not having a green card, a permanent visa that would allow her to stay in the US after her American husband passed away in January. Before her arrest, in a Facebook post, Marie-Thérèse mentioned her plans to return to France by the end of April. Marie-Thérèse, who suffers from heart problems and back pain, is among 70 other detainees. Her family had to wait several days before hearing from her, when she received a visit from the French consular services last Wednesday. According to Marie-Thérèse’s son, the family was alerted by neighbors who saw the police come to arrest her in Anniston, Alabama where she was residing. She was handcuffed and taken to the detention center. The son, who wishes to remain anonymous, expressed his “trust” in the consulate services. The French Consulate in Atlanta is closely monitoring Marie-Thérèse’s situation and maintaining contact with her family and the American immigration police, as confirmed by diplomatic sources to France Inter.
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