France FORCED to INTERVENE with Trump's ICE - Legal AF

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Attorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian cover the story of Marie-Therese Ross-Mahé, an 86-year-old French citizen who married her long-lost sweetheart, Army Captain Bill Ross, after both were widowed — only to be detained by ICE in her nightgown and deported after he died. The couple met when Ross was stationed in France in the 1960s, reconnected decades later, and married in Alabama in 2025.

When Captain Ross died suddenly in January, his sons — one a retired state trooper who works at the federal courthouse — launched a probate fight over his $173,000 estate and began stripping Marie-Therese of resources. Probate Judge Shirley Millwood, a Republican appointee, found that the younger son used his law enforcement connections to tip off ICE. Court documents show he was notified the day before the arrest and contacted again an hour after.

Marie-Therese was detained for 16 days in facilities in Alabama and Louisiana, and ultimately deported to Paris still wearing a stained orange prison jumpsuit. The French foreign minister had to personally intervene to secure her release. Brian and Shant note that ICE had full discretion here — a pending widow petition doesn't require deportation — but they chose to deploy resources against an 86-year-old woman with medical issues because someone with connections asked them to. This is the Trump immigration agenda in practice. - 05/08/2026.