‘Refused release': New Zealand mum and 6yo son detained by ICE in US
Sarah Shaw and her youngest son Isaac have spent more than two weeks in federal detention in Texas, where loved ones say their treatment is 'abuse and federal kidnapping.'
The single mother, who brought her family to the US in 2021 to marry her then-husband, has been working for the state of Washington as a youth counsellor in a juvenile detention facility for over three years.
On July 24, the 33-year-old travelled with her three kids from Washington to Vancouver by car, less than a three-hour drive, to drop her two eldest children, Grace, 11, and Seth, 9, to Vancouver airport. The children hopped on a direct flight back to New Zealand to visit their grandparents. Unable to fly unaccompanied, Isaac stayed by his mother's side.
When Ms Shaw attempted to re-enter the US, Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) detained her and young Isaac, 'whisking them away in an unmarked white van' and confiscating Ms Shaw's phone.
The pair were transported to Dilley Immigration Processing Centre in south Texas, over 35 hours away from their home in Everett, Washington.
The facility is deemed the largest immigration detention centre in the United States.
Ms Shaw's friend and advocate Victoria Besancon, is one of two people allowed contact with the mother and has branded the conditions inside the facility as 'comparable to prison.'
'She is not allowed to have her own clothes or her own underwear. There are five bunk beds in a room with multiple families in those rooms and they are locked inside from 8pm to 8am,' she told news.com.au.
'Sarah is one of the only people in the facility outside of the workers who speak English, so the situation has been very isolating for her.'
Ms Besancon, a retired navy veteran, revealed that Ms Shaw's legal representative reached out to an ICE officer who 'refused to release either of them, despite their legal status.'
'He went as far to threaten Sarah by saying, 'you better be careful who you speak to', when she inquired about the legalities of her detainment.'
Ms Shaw is on what is known as a 'combo card' visa – a two-in-one card that works as a work permit, which she obtained through her employment, and an I-360 visa, which can grant immigration status to domestic violence survivors.
She had recently received a letter confirming her visa renewal, but had not realised that the I-360 element of her visa was still pending approval.
Ms Shaw requested humanitarian parole – an emergency pass into the US – which Ms Besancon says should have been approved, despite the minor clerical error in her paperwork.
'Not only was she denied that right, but agents lied to her stating they had already requested it and she was denied. It was later confirmed that was a lie and no parole was filed or requested on her behalf,' said Ms Besancon.
Unfortunately, without both elements of the 'combo card', reentry into the US is not guaranteed.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a person without this documentation may be 'found inadmissible' and therefore deported, 'their applications may be denied and they may face abandonment of their pending application.'
Meanwhile, all three of Ms Shaw's children have been granted their I-360 visas, with Ms Besancon claiming the youngest son was therefore being detained 'illegally.'
Ms Besancon revealed that Ms Shaw has since had an interview with United States Citizen and Immigration services (USCIS), in hopes that her I-360 form will be approved and expedited.
'She still has a valid and current work visa. She was never inadmissable to the United States and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made the independent decision to detain her.'
Ms Besancon cautioned against the 'increasingly aggressive' attitude towards immigration in the US, warning tourists against visiting the country any time soon.
'I would strongly caution anyone outside of America from travelling and crossing borders right now. The state of our country and its attitude towards immigration is becoming increasingly aggressive. Due to our current administration, I personally feel there has been a large emboldening of racist communities within the United States,' she said.
'I love my country, but my country was built on immigration. I absolutely support those who want to come to our country to work and establish a life here. That is how America was founded and I believe that's how it should continue.'
A spokesperson for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade told news.com.au that 'consular officials have been in contact with the New Zealander in detention in the United States,' but declined to comment further.
ICE has been contacted for comment.
Ms Besancon has since created a GoFundMe to help Ms Shaw pay for legal representation in both Texas and Washington. The funds will also go towards helping Ms Shaw support her family and pay her bills while she is out of work.
The fund has raised over $53,000 USD ($81,000 AUD), in just seven days.
Travel to the US has dropped a whopping 3.1 per cent in July – just the latest in a slew of monthly declines as the Trump administration continues to impose strict curbs on travel and tough negotiations on trade.
Earlier this year, a former NSW police officer was detained, jailed overnight and deported from the United States – despite travelling there legally on a tourist visa to visit her US military husband.
Nikki Saroukos from southwest Sydney told news.com.au at the time, that she was 'treated like a criminal', denied her rights and subject to invasive searches, humiliating treatment and a night in federal prison – simply for trying to spend time with her American partner station in Hawaii.
'I've never been so terrified in my life. I froze. They said, 'We'll be sending you to jail.' I was just shaking, sweating – I couldn't believe it,' Mrs Saroukos said.
The ex-cop claimed she was then handcuffed, subjected to an in-depth cavity search and marched through the airport in full view of the public before being driven to a federal detention facility.
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