ORVAULT, France (AP) — An elderly French woman who wed an American military veteran has arrived back in her home country following more than two weeks in U.S. immigration detention, with her family now focused on her recovery from the traumatic experience.
Marie-Thérèse Ross, 85, returned to France after enduring what her son described as a challenging ordeal that began when she was detained for exceeding her visa limits. During a Friday news conference in Orvault, located in western France, her son Hervé Goix emphasized that the family’s main concern is protecting their mother.
“To preserve her health and her rest, and for her to be able to rebuild herself,” Goix stated while appearing with his two siblings before the media.
“We are particularly relieved today to see our mother again, to have her back,” he continued. “She has necessarily gone through a difficult ordeal.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed Ross’s return on Friday, criticizing the detention methods used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as falling short of French expectations and being unacceptable to his government, though he provided no additional details.
Court documents reveal that Ross arrived in the United States last June following her marriage to a former U.S. military member who had served in France during the 1960s. However, when her spouse passed away from natural causes in January, conflicts emerged regarding his estate. An Alabama judge determined that Ross’s stepson, who works for the federal government, played a role in having her placed in immigration detention.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, immigration officials apprehended Ross in Alabama on April 1 for exceeding her 90-day visa allowance. She was subsequently transferred to a detention center in Louisiana while French authorities voiced concerns about her treatment.
During the news conference, Goix revealed that his mother had been working on obtaining permanent residency status when authorities took her into custody. He stressed that “the essential thing is that she is truly safe, that she regains her comfort, that she is surrounded by her children and grandchildren.”
Orvault’s mayor, Sébastien Arrouët, shared with French news outlets that he had spoken with Ross, describing her as “delighted,” “happy,” and “relieved.”
“Put yourselves in her place, in a country she knows a little bit, it all happened to her so suddenly,” he explained. “We don’t realize the psychological violence. She needs to process all this, and the most important thing is that she is back with us.”
Documentation indicates that authorities detained Ross while she was wearing her nightclothes and prevented her from gathering essential items including her mobile phone, passport, and other personal identification documents.
