French widow, 85, ripped from her bed and thrown into ICE custody breaks silence after being deported and says she thought she'd die in custody

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:52, 25 April 2026 | Updated: 16:24, 25 April 2026 A French widow who was ripped from her bed by US immigration police and thrown into a federal detention center has broken her silence after being deported. Marie-Therese Ross-Mahé, 85, was arrested at her Anniston, Alabama home on April 1 while she was wearing only her nightgown and robe. She was taken to a detention center in Louisiana and was removed from the country on April 16 for overstaying her tourism visa, a Homeland Security spokesperson said. Ross-Mahé, who has since returned to France, has now revealed details of her 'very humiliating' arrest and how she feared she would die while in ICE detention. She was taken into custody after having woken up to federal agents pounding on the windows and doors of her late husband's house, she told The New York Times. When she opened the door, agents reportedly pushed inside the residence, placed her in handcuffs, loaded her into an unmarked car and drove her to jail. She was later shackled by her wrists and ankles, chained to other inmates and loaded on to a plane 'like a potato sack,' she said. 'They treat them like dogs, not in a human way,' she said of how ICE treats immigrants in federal custody. 'I thought that when we arrested them, we would treat them properly. It really shocked me.' Marie-Therese Ross-Mahé, 85, has claimed that she and her fellow inmates were 'treated like dogs' in ICE custody Ross-Mahé came to the US in June 2025 after marrying retired Army Captain William 'Bill' Ross, pictured together. The couple met in the 1950s, reconnected and got married last April Ross-Mahé was first taken to a 'filthy' county jail in Alabama, before she was flown to Louisiana and transported to an ICE processing center. She told the newspaper how she was made to wait on hard benches, dirty beds and in trucks for hours without any explanation from agents, whom she described as 'always yelling' at inmates. The 85-year-old claimed the alleged poor conditions worsened her back pain and sciatica, which she said made it so hard to walk that other inmates had to help her move to the bathroom and shower. 'I was waiting to die, really,' she recalled. 'I knew I was not going to make it.'  Despite the alleged inhumane conditions, Ross-Mahé said she 'found God' in the detention center through her fellow inmates. She claimed the inmates gave her hot chocolate and cookies, and brought her to tears by singing beautiful hymns. The Daily Mail was not able to independently verify Ross-Mahé's report of the conditions inside the detention center. A Homeland Security spokesperson denied the allegations in a statement to the Times. Ross-Mahé entered the US in June 2025 after marrying retired Army Captain William 'Bill' Ross at an Alabama courthouse in April that year. The 85-year-old was ripped from her bed in her Anniston, Alabama home, pictured, by US immigration police on April 1 and arrested. She was wearing only her nightgown and robe Ross-Mahé had been trying to obtain a green card when her husband, pictured, died of natural causes on January 24 this year The couple first dated in the 1950s while he was stationed in France and she was a bilingual secretary at a NATO base. But their romance was short-lived because Ross ended up falling in love with her friend Michèle Viaud, whom he moved back to Alabama and married. Ross and Viaud shared two sons and were together until her death in 2018. Before her death, Viaud and Ross managed to reconnect with Ross-Mahé and her then-husband Bernard Goix. Goix died in 2022 after a battle with lung cancer. His widow said that Ross was a supportive friend during her husband's illness. Ross-Mahé said that four months after Goix's death, Ross flew her to visit him in Alabama and their romance reignited. They spent two years flying back-and-forth between France and Alabama, before deciding to tie the knot.  She had been trying to obtain a green card when her husband of just nine months died of natural causes on January 24 this year. After Ross's death, his sons William 'Tony' Ross and Gary Ross launched a bid to take control of their late father's estate, according to court records obtained by the Daily Mail.  After Bill Ross's death, his son William 'Tony' Ross, pictured, used his position as a federal government employee to have ICE arrest his stepmother, a judge said His son Gary Ross, pictured with Bill Ross, was also involved in the plot, court filings allege The dispute became quickly heated and Tony had Ross-Mahé arrested by ICE, Calhoun County Probate Judge Shirley Millwood wrote in a court order. Ross's estate consisted of his modest $172,000 home, roughly $1,500 in cash and about $10,000 in personal property, including his Mercedes-Benz C300 and a truck.  Ross-Mahé told Tony and Gary, a US Coast Guard veteran, that she did not want her late husband's assets, and only wanted enough money to return to France to be with her children, the judge wrote. Tony and Gary took both of their father's vehicles from the property on the day after his death, the court filing showed. Roughly a week after the brothers tried to force their stepmother to turn Ross's phone over to them, Millwood wrote. Tony and Gary then had the water, electricity and internet at the home turned off. They also had all of the mail rerouted from the residence, which included notices from immigration services that were sent to Ross-Mahé, the judge said. The pair even offered to pay their stepmother $10,000 if she signed away her rights to the estate, the judge's order stated. 'After the brothers were unsuccessful in coercing Ms. Ross to accept their offer, this court believes William Anthony Ross used his position as a United States Federal Government employee for personal gain,' Millwood wrote. Tony, a former state trooper and current federal government employee, is said to have contacted a colleague requesting that Ross-Mahé be detained by ICE. Ross-Mahé, who has since returned to France, has now revealed details of her 'very humiliating' arrest and how she feared she would die while in ICE detention  He testified that he did not make a call or have a conversation requesting his stepmother's deportation, but the judge cited how Tony received a message from US Marshals the day before Ross-Mahé's arrest alerting him that she would be detained. He also received a text message within an hour of her arrest confirming her detention, the order stated. After receiving those communications, Tony alerted Gary who then went to the property with his wife and changed all the locks. Millwood urged the federal government to investigate the circumstances surrounding Marie-Therese's arrest, but despite the judge's recommendation she was deported. The Daily Mail has approached the Department of Homeland Security for comment.  The comments below have not been moderated. 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