86-Year-Old French Woman Detained by ICE in Alabama After Overstaying 90-Day Visa

An 86-year-old French woman named Marie-Thérèse, originally from Nantes, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Anniston, Alabama, in early April 2026 and is currently being held at an immigration detention facility in Louisiana. Marie-Thérèse had moved to the United States after marrying Billy, an American veteran she first met in the 1960s when he was stationed at the NATO base in Saint-Nazaire, where she worked as a secretary. The couple had reconnected in 2010, began a relationship after both were widowed in 2022, and married in 2025. Billy died suddenly in January 2026, leaving Marie-Thérèse's immigration status unresolved while her application for a green card was still pending. Her son told the French newspaper Ouest-France that agents handcuffed her by her hands and feet, as reported by the BBC.

DHS cites visa overstay; family says green card was pending The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, told the BBC that an "illegal alien from France" with a name matching Marie-Thérèse had entered the country in June 2024 and overstayed the permitted period of her 90-day visa. A separate source cited by Digi24 quoted DHS as placing her entry in June 2023 — the two accounts conflict, and no authoritative resolution between them has been confirmed. Her son maintained that she was actively waiting for a green card at the time of her arrest, a process she had initiated upon marrying an American citizen. The arrest took place one day before a scheduled court hearing related to an inheritance dispute with Billy's son, who, according to Marie-Thérèse's son, had threatened her and cut off her water, electricity, and internet supply. Multiple sources note there is no confirmed evidence that a complaint from Billy's son triggered the ICE detention. Neighbors alerted her children after agents took her away.

„They handcuffed her hands and feet as if she were a dangerous criminal.” — Marie-Thérèse's son via Ouest-France

Marie-Thérèse and Billy: key dates: — ; — ; — ; — ; — ; — ; —

French diplomacy steps in as family fears for her health The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French Consulate in Atlanta have both intervened in the case, and Marie-Thérèse has received a consular visit, her son confirmed to French media. Her family's primary concern is her physical condition: she suffers from heart and spinal problems, and her son warned that she would not survive a month under detention conditions. He described her as a "fighter" who was holding up, but said the situation was taking a severe toll.

„Our priority is to get her out of this detention center and repatriate her to France. Given her health, she will not last a month in such conditions of confinement.” — Marie-Thérèse's son via Ouest-France

The family is seeking her release and repatriation to France rather than pursuing further legal proceedings in the United States. Her son also described the ordeal in emotional terms, saying the experience felt surreal.

„It's like a bad movie. Every morning I wake up and tell myself that none of this is true, that it was just a nightmare.” — Marie-Thérèse's son via Novinky

Case emerges amid Trump administration's expanded deportation drive Marie-Thérèse's detention has drawn attention in part because of the broader context of U.S. immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump's second term, during which ICE has taken on a central role in executing a mass deportation initiative, as noted by the BBC. The case presents an unusual profile for an immigration enforcement action: an elderly European woman with no criminal record, detained while awaiting a spousal green card following her husband's death. The inheritance dispute with Billy's son adds a layer of complexity, though sources are careful to note that no direct link between that conflict and the ICE arrest has been established. Marie-Thérèse's son told Ouest-France that Billy was "a charming, adorable man" and that the couple had been in love "like teenagers" — a relationship that spanned six decades of separation before ending in the circumstances now unfolding in a Louisiana detention center.

The NATO military presence in French Atlantic ports during the Cold War brought thousands of American servicemen into contact with local populations. France hosted U.S. and NATO forces under the Atlantic Alliance framework until President Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO's integrated military command structure in 1966 — the same year Billy returned to the United States. U.S. immigration law generally allows the foreign spouse of an American citizen to apply for permanent residency, but the process can take months or years to complete, and the death of the sponsoring spouse before a green card is issued can leave the applicant in a legally ambiguous position.