French Woman, 86, Detained by ICE in Louisiana, Family Fears for Health

Marie-Thérèse’s case shows how quickly immigration enforcement can overwhelm discretion when an elderly widow lacks the paperwork to remain in the country she had come to join. At 86, the Frenchwoman from Orvault, near Nantes, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at her home in Anniston, Alabama, on April 1 and transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana.

Her family says the move has left a frail woman with heart and back problems far from the support system she needs. Her son, Hervé, said she was handcuffed on her hands and feet during the arrest and that contact with her has been limited, with information filtered through her lawyer and the French consul. He said the family’s urgent priority is to secure her release and send her back to France.

The case turns on a sequence of paperwork and timing that left little room for mercy. French reporting says Marie-Thérèse moved to the United States in April 2025 after reconnecting with Billy, an American she first met in the late 1950s while she was working as a bilingual secretary on a NATO base near Saint-Nazaire. The two reconnected in 2010 after both were widowed and later married. Billy died in January 2026, and after his death Marie-Thérèse did not have the permanent visa or green card needed to remain in the United States.

French reporting also said a court hearing tied to Billy’s estate was expected on April 9, a detail that may have complicated her ability to leave quickly. The family dispute around the succession has added another layer to a case that, at its core, is about an older woman trapped between mourning, bureaucracy and detention.

French diplomatic officials say the consulate general in Atlanta is following the case closely and that Marie-Thérèse has received consular protection. The U.S. State Department says foreign nationals detained in the United States must be told they may have their consulate notified, and consular officials may contact detainees to check on their welfare and provide assistance.

Louisiana is one of ICE’s major detention hubs, with several facilities operating in the state, and it has repeatedly drawn scrutiny over detention conditions. That backdrop matters here: Marie-Thérèse is not simply in custody, but in a system built for enforcement first, and for vulnerable elderly detainees only if discretion is actively used.