What started as a late-in-life love story for an 86-year-old woman from the Nantes area of Brittany has turned into a high-stakes immigration ordeal in the American South. Marie‑Thérèse was arrested at her home in Anniston, Alabama, on April 1 and is now being held in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, according to her family. Relatives say agents shackled her at the wrists and ankles despite her heart and back problems, and they fear she may not survive a prolonged stay behind bars. French consular officials have visited her in detention while her children push for emergency repatriation to France.
She moved to the United States last year after rekindling a relationship with a former U.S. serviceman she first knew in the 1950s, then married him in 2025, according to The Guardian. The outlet reports the couple reconnected in 2010 and that she began applying for a green card once she settled in Anniston. Family members say the residency process was still pending when her husband, identified in coverage only as “Billy,” died in January, leaving her immigration status in limbo.
Her detention unfolded against the backdrop of a dispute over her late husband’s estate. Neighbors and relatives say she was scheduled to appear in a local court on April 9 and that ICE agents arrived at her door the day before that hearing. French outlets report that she was taken from her Anniston home and transferred to a Louisiana holding center, where family members say she is being held alongside dozens of other women. As TF1 notes, relatives are particularly alarmed that an 86-year-old woman with known heart problems was shackled during the arrest.
The case has quickly moved onto the diplomatic radar. The French consulate in Atlanta confirmed it has been in contact with Marie‑Thérèse’s family and “is closely monitoring” what happens next, and consular staff have already been allowed a visit, Le Parisien reports. Her children argue that sending her back to France is the only humane option at her age and with her health issues. Her son told French media that neighbors phoned the family to describe the ICE operation at the house and that lawyers were already involved before she was taken into custody.
Legal Context for a Surviving Spouse
Under U.S. immigration law, a surviving spouse can sometimes continue with green card processing after a citizen spouse dies, but the relief is limited and highly fact specific. USCIS guidance, along with a 2010 policy memorandum implementing section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, explains that certain petitions and related applications may be approved or reinstated even after the qualifying relative’s death, according to USCIS policy guidance. Attorneys say strategies can include consular outreach, motions to reopen and medical or humanitarian arguments, although none of those routes guarantees a swift release from detention.
Family members say their legal team and French diplomats are pursuing every available option, including requests for compassionate release and fast-track repatriation, according to reporting by WWL-TV. Rights groups and immigration lawyers often warn that detention can be especially risky for frail older people, and the family says the clock is ticking. For now, her attorney and the French consulate appear to be her most realistic lifelines while legal claims grind forward, family members told The Guardian.
