85-year-old French widow caught in Trump's immigration crackdown describes her detention

An 85 year old widow of a US military veteran being locked in immigration detention for over two weeks is the kind of story that makes America look genuinely cruel to the rest of the world. You can support border security and still recognise theres something deeply wrong with treating elderly people like dangerous criminals over paperwork issues. The image of children crying in detention while an 85 year old woman sleeps in a crowded dorm is not exactly screaming freedom and dignity.

Ah. The stepsons had a hand in this. Probably screwed her out of inheritance, too.

And Trump is wondering why nobody wants to attend the FIFA World Cup! 🤣🤣 This administration did everything to determine people to even consider visiting the "Divided States of America!"

# ’’There’s babies in this jail.″ F*** this evil country.

>Ross had entered the U.S. to start a new life with William B. Ross, a retired U.S. soldier she had met when he was stationed in France in the 1950s and she was a secretary at NATO. Oh, there's here problem. She worked at NATO. [Trump hates NATO.](https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/04/23/trump-attacks-against-nato-allies-painful-says-former-nato-chief)

When the riot police in tactical gear knocked a centenarian to the ground and stepped over him as blood ran from his head...You knew.

In the comments following the article, one person said: "...she was doing something illegal... end of conversation." This mentality is how it starts. If you review the circumstances, this was not something done intentionally, but through circumstance, which could easily have been rectified with a tiny bit of grace. When law refuses mercy, then fascism gains strength. Germany learned this the hard way. So could we.

After reading that her husband was a Trump supporter and her and her husband used to watch Fox news together, she just seems like another "I never thought it would happen to me" types.

I'd love to read the article but the website is a glitchy piece of shit

This lady and her dead husband were tRump supporters. She really thought that made her a special exception.

Please don’t get me wrong, I hate how Trump is enforcing the immigration laws. But, when that enforcement affects a white European, the media calls it out like it is a tragedy that is worse and different-in-kind from the far greater number of identical enforcement overreachs against brown, black, and yellow peoples from beyond Europe.

This lady was a proud magchudette until it affected her personally, as is tradition. Turns out vice-signaling to magchuds didn’t work for Madam. My tiny violin is not playing a song for her.

Details I am going to include from the early news stories. The widow stated to some reporter that she wanted nothing from the estate and all she wanted was to return to France. Meanwhile, the step children had offered her some amount of money (I think it was $10,000), which she rejected. This money would have be sufficient to "return" to France if she were sincere in this statement, so clearly she had some additional financial expectations that she did not share with that reporter. Meanwhile, she overstayed her Visa, missed her hearing, and "somehow" ICE learned of her and we know the rest. As for being a veteran's widow, yes she was, but she was only a wife of a veteran for 10 months when she was already 84 after moving here from France (wedding April 2025 - death Jan 2026). I think AP News is milking the term in this case. Not taking sides here, and the step kids sound like shits. But I get annoyed news articles pick and choose the details they publicize.

Her stepson, a state trooper turned her in to ICE when there was an estate dispute when his father died. He denies it but sure did get rid of her, huh.

Conservatives are sick f****** people

Just look at those beady eyes. You know she's plotting to murder school children and steal millions in food stamps.

The fact that it takes an old white lady to see how fucked up the treatment of everyone they take is f****** crazy.

And now her late husband's ghost has some rotten souls to haunt! Everybody needs a pastime.

I cant really say what I think since I would be banned. I read the article and the only thing that came to mind is that anyone that joined ICE is a f****** pig. I really hope this shit comes back in their lives, when they are wiser and have families, and they get royaly fucked. US, land of the Shame.

Can Donald Trump microwave a burrito so hot that even he couldn’t get it down in one swallow?

Clearly got rid of another of the worst of the worst. I personally feel much safer having her gone.

America is a deeply rotten amoral and evil country. We have been taken over by moral degenerates who call themselves christians but they truly lack any of the empathy and compassion that Jesus taught. They are wholly evil and cannot be negotiated with

Trump is a vile piece of shit.

**Citizenship and Status Timeline** • **Citizenship:** She is a **French citizen**. She has never been a U.S. citizen. • **Arrival in U.S.:** She moved to the United States in **1982** with her husband. • **Legal Status History:** \* She initially entered the U.S. on a **B-2 (Tourist) Visa**. • She lived in the U.S. for approximately **42 years** (from 1982 until her detention in early 2024). • During much of this time, she lived as an "undocumented" immigrant after her original visa terms expired. **Visa Overstay and Legal Issues** • **Period of Overstay:** While the exact date her original B-2 visa expired is not specified in public reports, she was effectively in overstay status for several decades. • **Previous Legal Action:** In **1997**, a federal immigration judge ordered her to be deported. However, that order was not executed at the time, and she remained in the country. • **Reporting Requirements:** Prior to her 2024 detention, she had been under "orders of supervision." This meant ICE was aware of her presence but allowed her to remain in the community provided she checked in regularly with immigration officials. **Date of Detention:** She was taken into custody on **January 23, 2024**, during a routine check-in with ICE in New Orleans. 1997 - Bill Clinton 2024 - Joe Biden Bottom line - this has nothing to do with presidency. It’s all bout rules and enforcement.