An elderly French woman has returned home to France after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Alabama, her family confirmed on Friday.
Marie-Thérèse, an octogenarian from Nantes, was arrested earlier this month in Anniston, Alabama, where she had been living since marrying her long-lost American love, Billy, last year. Her son, who had raised the alarm about her detention, expressed relief upon her release, telling French media, "Mum is finally free! It's a total relief."
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed her arrival in France, stating, "We are pleased about that." Her family described her as being in a state of shock and physically exhausted when they met her at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, still wearing a stained and torn prison uniform.
According to U.S. Department of Homeland Security records, Marie-Thérèse entered the United States in June 2025 on a 90-day visa that she subsequently overstayed. Her family says she was in the process of applying for a green card following her marriage to Billy, whom she had first met in the 1960s when he was stationed at a NATO base in Saint-Nazaire.
After losing touch for decades, the couple reconnected in 2010 and maintained a friendship while both were married to other partners. Following the deaths of their respective spouses, they began a romantic relationship in 2022 and married last year.
Billy died suddenly in January, leaving Marie-Thérèse's immigration status uncertain. Shortly after his death, a dispute arose between Marie-Thérèse and one of Billy's sons over inheritance matters. According to her son, Billy's son "threatened her, intimidated her, and even went so far as to cut off her water, internet, and electricity."
Marie-Thérèse had hired a lawyer and was scheduled for a hearing when ICE agents arrested her the day before the proceeding. "They handcuffed her hands and feet like she was a dangerous criminal," her son told reporters.
The detention comes amid an expanded role for ICE under President Donald Trump's second term, with the agency playing a central role in the administration's mass deportation initiatives. When questioned about ICE's methods, Foreign Minister Barrot noted that they were "not necessarily in line - I am not referring to this specific case, but more generally - with those currently in force and acceptable to us."
Marie-Thérèse is now recovering with family in France, bringing an end to what her son described as a traumatic ordeal that separated an elderly woman from her support system during a time of grief.