ICE Arrests 85-Year-Old French Widow Who Married Her G.I. Sweetheart
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Catherine Porter
Catherine Porter reported from Paris.
A few years ago, Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé reconnected with a man named Bill Ross, whom she had met when she was a young secretary and he was stationed in France for the U.S. military. Both widowed and in their 80s, the two fell in love, and last year she moved more than 4,000 miles to Anniston, Ala., to marry him.
But the continent-spanning love story soured in January after Mr. Ross died, setting off an ugly inheritance battle between his two sons and Ms. Ross-Mahé, 85. This month, immigration agents arrested her in her nightgown at her late husband’s home — and a county probate judge overseeing his estate said that one of his sons was responsible for the arrest.
Ms. Ross-Mahé is now in a detention center hundreds of miles away in Louisiana, her own three children back in France unable to reach her and fearing for her health.
The Calhoun County probate judge, Shirley A. Millwood, a Republican elected in 2024, in a Friday ruling urged the federal government to investigate, “especially in light of the ongoing national events surrounding the distrust of federal law enforcement officers and the many investigations ongoing of corruption within our government.”
In her ruling, she appointed an independent administrator for Mr. Ross’s estate and temporarily ordered his sons to give up their keys to their father’s home. The ruling has not been previously reported.
Judge Millwood wrote in her ruling that she believed that Mr. Ross’s younger son, Tony Ross, who she said was a retired Alabama state trooper now working at a federal courthouse in Anniston, had used his position as a government employee to have Ms. Ross-Mahé arrested.
The son testified in probate court that he had not asked co-workers to have Ms. Ross-Mahé arrested. But, Judge Millwood wrote, law enforcement officers told Tony Ross a day before Ms. Ross-Mahé’s arrest that she would be detained, and he also received a text confirming the arrest less than an hour after it happened. Two hours after her arrest, the judge wrote, Mr. Ross’s other son, Gary, went to their father’s house and changed the locks.
Judge Millwood directed that copies of her ruling be sent to the presiding federal judge in Anniston, as well as to the top U.S. marshal for the region, possibly in an effort to prompt an investigation into the sons’ behavior.
Mr. Ross’s sons, who are in their 50s, did not respond to requests for comment, and neither did their lawyer in the inheritance case.
Ms. Ross-Mahé said in a court filing before her arrest that she had been trying to gain American citizenship. The Homeland Security Department said in an unsigned statement only that Ms. Mahé had overstayed a 90-day visa by roughly four months and was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
One of Ms. Ross-Mahé’s sons said his mother first became acquainted with Mr. Ross in the late 1950s while working at a military base in western France. Mr. Ross later married one of her friends, returning to the United States with her and beginning a life in Alabama.
Ms. Ross-Mahé married, too, and had three children, but many decades later, after both of their spouses died, the long-lost friends struck up a long-distance romance. She visited Alabama, and he visited the Nantes area where she lived, meeting her family. The children found it slightly awkward that their mother had fallen in love again so quickly, but they were glad that she was finding a second youth, said her son, who asked not to be identified out of fear of affecting his mother’s case.
And so Ms. Ross-Mahé gave up her life in western France — and her pension — to live in Anniston, a city of about 21,000 people not far from the Talladega racecar track. The couple married civilly in April 2025 and had a religious ceremony that summer, which her children watched online from France.
The house Mr. Ross had owned for nearly 50 years became home base, with its backyard pool, brick exterior and manicured lawn. The pair explored parks, drove to Florida and had plans to visit Louisiana, too, Ms. Ross-Mahé’s son said. But on Jan. 24, Mr. Ross died unexpectedly of natural causes at 85.
The dispute over his possessions — the one-story home worth about $173,000, as well as two cars and a bank account holding about $1,500 — began shortly after.
In Alabama, probate judges oversee many administrative matters, including wills, and Judge Millwood is handling the inheritance dispute because Mr. Ross did not leave one.
Under Alabama’s inheritance laws for people who die without a will, Ms. Ross-Mahé would be entitled to half of Mr. Ross’s estate, and his children would split the other half.
But Tony Ross testified that Ms. Ross-Mahé had said, while she was married to his father, that if he died, she did not want anything of his but would need to be able to fly back to France. After his death, the sons sent Ms. Mahé an offer of $10,000 if she waived her right to any inheritance.
Ms. Ross-Mahé and the judge described more aggressive approaches.
The day after Mr. Ross died, his sons came to the house and each drove off with one of his vehicles, a truck and a 2018 Mercedes-Benz, according to Judge Millwood.
Mr. Ross’s sons denied removing other pieces of property and countered that Ms. Mahé had “removed, concealed or disposed” of certain assets herself. They also said she had told them she did not want certain things in the house — guns and Mr. Ross’s dog — but had later claimed that the sons had taken them unfairly.
Ms. Ross-Mahé said in a court filing last month that the older of Mr. Ross’s sons, Gary Ross, had rerouted all mail sent to his father’s home, which caused her to miss an appointment with immigration officials. Because of her citizenship status, Ms. Ross-Mahé said, she was not on her husband’s checking account and did not have access to money to pay for food, clothing or utilities. Her son said the internet, utilities and cable had been turned off at the home.
On March 30, Judge Millwood issued an order temporarily prohibiting all of Mr. Ross’s family members from selling or giving away any of his assets.
Two days later, on April 1, ICE agents came to the home on quiet Gann Drive and arrested Ms. Ross-Mahé, dressed only in her nightgown, robe and underwear, according to a neighbor’s account filed in court.
Her son said he had been unable to contact his mother since her arrest, because the detention center where she is held does not accept international phone calls. Instead, she has been communicating through her neighbors in Anniston, who have rallied around her cause. The French Consulate has also been working to free her.
According to Ms. Ross-Mahé’s son, she has told her neighbors that other people being held at the detention center have been taking care of her, offering her covers at night and calling her “Unsinkable Molly” after Margaret Brown, a survivor of the Titanic.
Bryant K. Oden contributed reporting from Anniston, Ala. Georgia Gee and Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on stories across the United States, including natural disasters, protests, unsolved mysteries, high-profile criminal cases and more.
Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris.
A version of this article appears in print on April 17, 2026, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Love Story With Roots in 1950s France Leads to an ICE Lockup
French Widow Detained by ICE in Alabama Is Released After 16 Days
Catherine Porter and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs
Catherine Porter reported from Paris.
An 85-year-old Frenchwoman who spent 16 days in American immigration detention went home to France on Friday.
Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign affairs minister, announced the return of the woman, Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé, to reporters on Friday morning, saying “there were acts of violence” in her case that concerned the French government.
“The main thing is that she is back in France, and that is fully satisfying to us,” he said.
Delivered directly to the Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana by immigration officers, Ms. Ross-Mahé was greeted at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport by her three adult children. She was still dressed in her prison wear — orange shoes, sweatpants and a gray sweater — covered in stains and holes, according to one of her sons. Ms. Ross-Mahé, who has high blood pressure and back pain from severe sciatica, was in a state of physical shock and spiritual exhaustion, he said.
The French consul general of New Orleans, Rodolphe Sambou, visited Ms. Ross-Mahé twice while she was in detention and lobbied for her release. He said Friday that the American government had “conveyed to us that they decided to release her, given her age and medical condition.”
The Homeland Security Department confirmed on Friday that she had left the United States but did not say more, and it was unclear whether she had been deported or left voluntarily. The agency had previously said that she overstayed a 90-day visa by roughly four months and had been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Ms. Ross-Mahé moved to Anniston, Ala., last year after marrying a former American G.I. named Bill Ross whom she had met in the 1950s, when they were both teenagers working at a NATO base in western France. They had kept in touch for decades, and after both were widowed they fell in love, visiting one another in France and the United States.
Once married and settled in his longtime home, Ms. Ross-Mahé began the formal immigration process.
But when Mr. Ross died unexpectedly in January at 85, Ms. Ross-Mahé’s troubles began. Mr. Ross left no will, and an ugly fight ensued with his two adult sons. He left behind the one-story home worth about $173,000, as well as two cars and a bank account holding about $1,500.
A few months later, on the morning of April 1, Ms. Ross-Mahé was arrested by U.S. immigration officials and removed from her home in Anniston, dressed only in her nightgown, robe and underwear. She was taken to an immigration detention center hundreds of miles away, in Louisiana.
A county probate judge overseeing Mr. Ross’s estate said that one of his sons — a retired Alabama state trooper whom she said now works at a federal courthouse in Anniston — was responsible for Ms. Ross-Mahé’s arrest.
The judge wrote that law enforcement officers informed the son, Tony Ross, a day before Ms. Ross-Mahé’s arrest that she would be detained, and that he also received a text confirming the arrest less than an hour after it happened. Two hours after her arrest, the judge wrote, Mr. Ross’s other son, Gary, went to their father’s house and changed the locks.
Both sons, who are in their 50s, have not responded to repeated requests for comment, and neither has their lawyer.
In her ruling, the judge, Shirley A. Millwood, a Republican elected in 2024, noted that the Ross brothers had rerouted all mail sent to their father’s home, “purposely” circumventing Ms. Ross-Mahé from getting her mail. As a result, Judge Millwood said, she did not receive mail related to her efforts to gain citizenship and missed a hearing with immigration officials.
Ms. Ross-Mahé and her stepsons had accused each other of concealing or getting rid of Mr. Ross’s assets, according to court papers.
Judge Millwood denied the sons’ request to be the administrators of their father’s estate, instead appointing an independent administrator and ordering that the two sons surrender the keys to their father’s home.
She also called on the federal government to investigate the sequence of events that led to Ms. Ross-Mahé’s arrest.
A correction was made on
An earlier version of this article misidentified the relatives of Bill Ross involved in the inheritance dispute. They are his sons, not his stepsons.
Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on stories across the United States, including natural disasters, protests, unsolved mysteries, high-profile criminal cases and more.
A version of this article appears in print on April 18, 2026, Section A, Page 15 of the New York edition with the headline: Widow Detained by ICE in Alabama Is Back in France
The 85-Year-Old Widow Snagged by Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Catherine Porter interviewed Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé in Nantes, France, and spoke with her lawyer, children and a former neighbor.
Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé was in bed at home in Anniston, Ala., when she was startled awake by banging. Men had surrounded the bungalow where Ms. Ross-Mahé, a French citizen, had lived with her American husband until he died in January. They were knocking loudly on the windows and doors.
When Ms. Ross-Mahé, 85, opened the door, they pushed inside, saying they were the immigration police, she said in an interview. They handcuffed her and took her to an unmarked car before driving her to a jail cell. She was still in her bathrobe, pajamas and slippers, she said.
“I didn’t know what was happening to me really,” she told me in France this week, in her first interview since being deported after a 16-day incarceration. “It was very humiliating. My hair had not even been combed. I was just getting out of bed.”
After her arrest on April 1, Ms. Ross-Mahé was swallowed into the country’s sprawling immigration detention system, where, she said, she was chained by her wrists and ankles to other inmates and loaded onto buses and a plane “like a potato sack.” After two weeks in detention in Alabama and Louisiana, she said, she feared she might die.
Her story gives a glimpse into the opaque labyrinth of immigrant-detention sites operated by the Trump administration, where many like her see no lawyer, have no sense of where they are and understand little of why they are held or, in her case, later released. It also raises questions about how that system may be weaponized: A judge said in a ruling that she believed that Ms. Ross-Mahé’s stepson Tony Ross, who had been fighting with her over her late husband’s estate, instigated her arrest.
The New York Times could not independently confirm the details of her experience in detention, but it aligns with the accounts of others who have been detained in similar circumstances. Tony and his brother, Gary Ross, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did their lawyer.
The experience stunned Ms. Ross-Mahé, who previously considered herself a supporter of President Trump and so admired his policy to deport illegal immigrants that she thought it should be adopted in France.
“I didn’t think these things existed,” she said of the immigration facilities she was held in. “I thought that when we arrested them, we would treat them properly. It really shocked me.”
She added, “They treat them like dogs, not in a human way.”
Asked for comment, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement that “all detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.” It added that “ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens” and is “regularly audited and inspected by external agencies.”
Ms. Ross-Mahé said she and her American husband, Bill Ross, first dated in the 1950s, when they both worked at a NATO base on the outskirts of Nantes, in western France — she as a secretary, he as a soldier. Their romance was short-lived, she said, as he developed a relationship with one of her friends in town, Michèle Viaud, moving back to Alabama with her.
They stayed in touch over the decades as they built their lives and families. Mr. Ross married and raised two sons with Ms. Viaud, who died in 2018. Ms. Ross-Mahé had three children with her first husband, Bernard Goix, who died of lung cancer in 2022.
Mr. Ross sent her supportive messages when Bernard fell sick, she said.
Four months after Bernard died, Mr. Ross sent her a ticket to visit him in Alabama.
Their friendship quickly shifted to love. “Everything came back,” said Ms. Ross-Mahé. For almost two years, they flew between Alabama and France, visiting each other.
Last year, they married in Alabama in April, first in a parking lot before a notary and then in a church.
Mr. Ross hired a lawyer to process her application for permanent residency, she said. She received an employment authorization document from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, she added — a first step toward getting a Social Security number. Because she was a veteran’s spouse, the Department of Defense gave her an identification card, which The New York Times reviewed, that gave her grocery discounts at a nearby military base.
Weeks before her arrest, a neighbor took her to an appointment related to her application at the immigration office, she said.
“For me, I was legal,” she said. “I never thought this could happen.”
Mr. Ross died suddenly one night in January. Ms. Ross-Mahé said she found him in the bathroom, already cold. He left behind the bungalow with its backyard pool, worth about $173,000; two vehicles; and a bank account holding about $1,500, according to court records. He did not leave a will.
Soon, Ms. Ross-Mahé clashed with Mr. Ross’s sons, both in their 50s, over the inheritance.
The day after Mr. Ross’s death, his sons took his truck and car, according to a ruling by a county probate judge, making it hard for Ms. Ross-Mahé to leave the neighborhood. Court records said the sons forced her to give them her husband’s cellphone. That meant she couldn’t make local calls, she said, since she had only her French phone.
Ms. Ross-Mahé said they cut off her cable and internet, took their father’s credit cards and refused to help her fill her prescription for blood pressure medication.
Her neighbors came to her rescue, helping pay her electricity and water bills, she said. They took her to the hospital, bought her groceries and organized Meals on Wheels deliveries to the house, she added.
She found a second lawyer and changed the locks on the house so Mr. Ross’s sons couldn’t enter whenever they wanted, she said. She covered the windows with paper, so no one could see in.
“I didn’t want to let them win,” she said. “But I was not feeling good at all. I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t sleeping. I was scared to death.”
The probate court set a date for a hearing on April 9.
With eight days to go, Ms. Ross-Mahé was arrested by Homeland Security agents.
She said an ICE officer told her she had been illegally in the United States between September, when her 90-day visa ended, and early December, when her green card application was submitted. The Homeland Security Department initially said in a statement that she had overstayed a 90-day visa by roughly four months, but said in a later statement she had been in the country illegally for seven months.
In her ruling on April 10, the probate judge, Shirley A. Millwood, a Republican elected in 2024, accused Mr. Ross’s youngest son, Tony, a courthouse security officer and former state trooper, of initiating his stepmother’s arrest.
The judge said that U.S. marshals notified Tony the day before the arrest that she would be detained shortly. An hour after her detention, he received a text message confirming her arrest, the judge said.
At first, Ms. Ross-Mahé and her lawyer said, she was imprisoned in a filthy county jail, before being flown in chains to Louisiana and held in an ICE processing center.
Throughout the journey, she said, she was made to wait for hours without explanation on hard benches, dirty prison beds or in trucks.
“It was humiliation all the time,” she said. “They never talked, they were always yelling.”
The experience worsened her back pain and sciatica, making it hard for her to walk.
The other female inmates helped her move to the bathroom and shower, she said. They made her hot chocolate and offered her cookies. The night before Easter, she said, they sang hymns that brought her to tears.
“They were wonderful,” she said. “I found God in that jail through those women.”
After two weeks of detention, she said, she lost hope of being released and didn’t think she could survive much longer.
“I was waiting to die, really,” she said. “I knew I was not going to make it.”
On the morning of April 16, the 16th day of her incarceration, she said, she was awakened at 2 a.m. by a guard and told she was leaving. She was frightened that she would be transferred to another facility. Instead, she was flown to Dallas and later taken to an American Airlines plane heading to Paris.
The French consul general in New Orleans, Rodolphe Sambou, who had lobbied for her release, said the American government had “decided to release her, given her age and medical condition.”
Back in France with her sons, Ms. Ross-Mahé is still in shock. She wears clothes bought at the mall on her way back from the airport, since her old belongings remain in Alabama. A doctor has diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.
She learned about the judge’s ruling, and the suggestion that her stepsons instigated her arrest, only after her release.
“I didn’t think they were capable of doing something like that,” she said. “It has destroyed a part of me.”
Mr. Ross’s gold wedding ring hangs from a chain on her neck, together with a cross made of red gems.
“I will never be able to go back to my husband’s grave. I will not be able go back to see my friends there,” she said. “That really hurts.”
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting from New York.
Catherine Porter is an international reporter for The Times, covering France. She is based in Paris.
A version of this article appears in print on April 26, 2026, Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: The Veteran’s Widow Who Was Caught Up In Trump’s Crackdown.
Our Coverage of U.S. Immigration
Arrests at Texas Border: A federal appeals court has cleared the way for Texas to act on an expansive 2023 state law that empowers state and local police officers to arrest migrants who cross illegally from Mexico.
Green Card Seekers: Under new guidance issued by the Trump administration, immigrants can now be denied a green card for expressing political opinions, such as participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests, posting criticism of Israel on social media and desecrating the American flag, according to internal Department of Homeland Security training materials reviewed by The New York Times.
85-Year-Old Widow Deported: In her first interview since being deported to France, Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé, the French widow of a former G.I., recounted her experience in ICE detention. After two weeks in detention in Alabama and Louisiana, she said, she feared she might die.
Asylum Claims: An appeals court upheld an earlier ruling that President Trump could not categorically deny asylum claims from people crossing from Mexico into the United States. While the ruling does not take effect immediately, it brings the administration one step closer to a requirement that it process new applications from asylum seekers.
