Ross is among the spouses of U.S. soldiers and military veterans caught up in the Trump administration’s mass deportation enforcement, which eliminated prior policies that had extended greater leniency to family members of service members.
NEW ORLEANS — The French government is pressing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to release an 85-year-old French national from immigration custody after she was detained in Alabama earlier this month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Marie-Therese Ross on April 1 after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to DHS. Ross is now being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Louisiana.
Rodolphe Sambou, Consul General of France in New Orleans, told the Associated Press that the French government has “fully mobilized” to secure her release. He said he has visited Ross in detention twice and is coordinating with her family and French officials in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Paris.
“Given her age, we really want her to get out of this situation as soon as possible,” Sambou said. “We want to get her out of jail.”
Sambou said the French government has contacted DHS directly about Ross’s case. He declined to comment on her legal status or other details of the matter.
Ross is among the spouses of U.S. soldiers and military veterans affected by the Trump administration’s mass deportation enforcement, which eliminated prior policies that had extended greater leniency to family members of service members, according to the AP.
Calhoun County marriage records show Ross married William Ross, an Alabama resident, in April 2025. A family obituary identifies William Ross as a former U.S. Army captain who died in January.
A lawyer representing Ross in a separate legal matter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ross’s family also did not respond to requests for comment.