French woman, 86, held by ICE after moving to US to reunite with long-lost love

The son of pensioner Marie-Thérèse says he worries for his mother's frail health, while she is detained in a Louisiana ICE centre. French woman, 86, held by ICE after moving to US to reunite with long-lost love Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A warehouse used as an ICE detention centre in the state of Utah (file pic) A warehouse used by ICE in the state of Utah An 86-year-old French woman who moved to the US last year after rekindling a 1960s romance is being detained at an immigration enforcement centre in Louisiana. The son of Marie-Thérèse, from the city of Nantes, sounded the alarm after his mother was arrested in Anniston, Alabama, earlier in April. "They handcuffed her hands and feet like she was a dangerous criminal," he told French outlet Ouest-France. The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told the BBC that an "illegal alien from France" matching Marie-Thérèse's name had entered the country in June 2025 and overstayed her 90-day visa. According to her son, however, Marie-Thérèse was awaiting a green card when she was detained. Marie-Thérèse mother had moved to the US after marrying her long-lost love - an American man named Billy whom she had met in the 1960s, when he was a soldier stationed in the Nato base of Saint-Nazaire, and she a secretary. Billy returned to the US in 1966. He and Marie-Thérèse lost touch, got married - each in their own country - and had children. The two reconnected in 2010 and visited one another with their spouses, Ouest-France reported. By 2022, both were widowed and started a relationship. Billy was a "charming, adorable man", Marie-Thérèse's son said, and the couple were in love "like teenagers". They married last year and Marie-Thérèse relocated to Alabama, applying for a green card - a long-term visa - that would grant her the right to remain in the US. But she had not yet received the green card when Billy died suddenly in January, leaving her immigration status unclear. Shortly after Billy's death, his son and Marie-Thérèse reportedly entered a dispute over his inheritance. Billy's son "threatened her, intimidated her, and even went so far as to cut off her water, internet, and electricity," her son told Ouest-France. Marie-Thérèse hired a lawyer, but was arrested by ICE the day before a scheduled hearing. Neighbours alerted her children. There is no proof that it was a report by Billy's son that landed his stepmother in an ICE detention centre. The French foreign ministry is involved and Marie-Thérèse had received a consular visit, her son told French media. He added that his mother was a "fighter" and "holding up well" but that she had heart and back problems. "Our priority is to get her out of this detention center and repatriate her to France. Given her health, she won't last a month in such conditions of detention," he said. Since the start of Donald Trump's second term in office, ICE has taken a central role in carrying out his administration's mass deportation initiative. Its budget and mission have been significantly expanded and it plays a key role in removing undocumented immigrants from the US. Marie-Thérèse's son said his story "was like a bad American film. Every morning I wake up and tell myself none of it is true, that it was just a nightmare". An officer with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE (right) and another federal officer holding a crowd control device (centre) stand at a Minneapolis intersection where protesters had gathered after the death of Renee Nicole Good. Bystanders and journalists also stand in the intersection. What is ICE and what powers do its agents have to use force? The French company paid $6.5m to jihadist groups to keep its plant running in war-torn Syria, a Paris court heard. Loganair is introducing the route from Jersey as part of its summer schedule. The boy was found malnourished, naked, lying next to human excrement and unable to walk, the prosecutor said. The White House is considering a bid for the late MP to receive America's highest civilian honour. The United Nations' secretary general said it was "highly probable" that the negotiations would restart. The Trump administration is asking a court to throw out the convictions of Stewart Rhodes and other members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Congressmen Tony Gonzales joined Eric Swalwell in resigning from Congress on Tuesday after facing allegations of sexual misconduct. The death has prompted officials to warn Colorado River users to wear recommended safety gear, including life jackets.