Marie-Thérèse
Noman Sabit: An octogenarian from Nantes, France, finds herself in a detention center in Louisiana, after marrying a former American soldier she had known in the 1960s.
Marie-Thérèse, 86, had met Billy in the 1960s, when he was a soldier stationed at the NATO base in Saint-Nazaire and she was working as a secretary. Billy returned to the United States in 1966. Each married on their own, started a family, and the two lost touch. According to the newspaper Ouest-France, they found each other again in 2010 and visited each other, accompanied by their respective spouses.
Widowed, in love, then married
In 2022, both widowed, they began a relationship. Marie-Thérèse's son describes Billy as a "charming and adorable" man and says the couple were in love "like teenagers." They married last year. Marie-Thérèse left Nantes to settle in Alabama and began the process of obtaining a green card, the permanent residence permit in the United States.
A death followed by an arrest
Before the green card was granted, Billy died suddenly in January, leaving her immigration status unclear. Shortly after, a dispute broke out between Marie-Thérèse and her husband's son over the inheritance. According to statements reported by Ouest-France, the son allegedly threatened and intimidated the elderly woman, going so far as to cut off her water, electricity, and internet access.
Marie-Thérèse hired a lawyer. The day before a scheduled hearing, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up at her home. It was her neighbors who alerted her children. "They handcuffed her hands and feet as if she were a dangerous criminal," her son told Ouest-France. Nothing allows us to establish that a complaint by Billy's son led to the arrest.
Detained in Louisiana
Marie-Thérèse is currently held in an ICE detention center in Louisiana. She suffers from heart and back problems. Her son says she is a "fighter" and is "holding up," but says he is very worried about her condition. "Our priority is to get her out of that center and repatriate her to France. Given her state of health, she will not last a month in such detention conditions," he said.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been informed of the case. Marie-Thérèse has received a consular visit, according to information passed on by her son to French media.
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