An 86-year-old French woman who moved to the United States to marry her sweetheart from the 1950s is being held in a crowded detention centre in Louisiana after immigration agents arrested her and cuffed her by the hands and feet.
The woman, identified only as Marie-Thérèse, is from Brittany. Her family says it is deeply worried about her health and has been trying to secure her release while French consular officials also work on the case.
According to her relatives, the arrest has been especially distressing because of her age and condition. The family says she was treated in a manner that shocked them, and one of her sons told the Ouest-France newspaper that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, had handled his mother like a hardened criminal.
The family’s concerns are now focused on the conditions in the detention centre and on whether she will receive appropriate care while she remains there. Their fear, they say, is that the physical strain of detention could pose a serious risk to her wellbeing.
Marie-Thérèse’s story has drawn attention because of the long personal history behind her move to the United States. She left France decades after meeting the man she would later marry, and the family says the trip was rooted in that 1950s romance. Instead of the peaceful family situation they expected, they are now dealing with her detention after the immigration arrest.
The case is also unfolding with diplomatic involvement. French consular officials are attempting to help secure her release, adding an international dimension to the family’s efforts. For now, however, she remains in custody in Louisiana.
Her detention has raised concern within her family not only because of her age, but also because of the way she was taken into custody. They say she was handcuffed and shackled during the arrest, and they believe that was an especially harsh treatment for an 86-year-old woman.
As the family waits for progress, their message is straightforward: they want Marie-Thérèse safe, out of detention, and able to return to a situation that reflects her age, her health and her long family history. The case has become a stark example of how immigration enforcement can collide with deeply personal and long-established family ties.
