immigration enforcement centre in Louisiana. The son of Marie-Thérèse, from the city of Nantes, sounded the alarm after his mother was arrested in Anniston, Alabama, earlier in April. "They handcuffed her hands and feet like she was a dangerous criminal," he told French outlet Ouest-France.

The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told the BBC that an "illegal alien from France" matching Marie-Thérèse's name had entered the country in June 2025 and overstayed her 90-day visa. According to her son, however, Marie-Thérèse was awaiting a green card when she was detained. Marie-Thérèse mother had moved to the US after marrying her long-lost love - an American man named Billy whom she had met in the 1960s, when he was a soldier stationed in the Nato base of Saint-Nazaire, and she a secretary. Billy returned to the US in 1966. He and Marie-Thérèse lost touch, got married - each in their own country - and had children. The two reconnected in 2010 and visited one another with their spouses, Ouest-France reported. (BBC)