According to her lawyer, Minda Thorward, Shaw, aged 33, selected a direct flight out of Vancouver to avoid her children dealing with a layover by themselves.

Shaw, who is about to start a master’s degree in psychology at Northwest University, is concerned if her detention might affect her studies, as conveyed by her attorney.

Thorward said border officials had the discretion to grant Shaw humanitarian parole rather than detaining her.

“It was not necessary, inappropriate and inhumane (to detain Shaw and her son),” Thorward said.

“She’s lawfully in the country. She’s been doing everything in good faith.”

As per a CBP representative’s statement to CNN, individuals with expired parole looking to re-enter the US are detained according to immigration policies.

The spokesperson also mentioned that if minors accompany them, CBP ensures families stay together or arranges their care with a legal guardian.

A facility for migrant families

A friend of Shaw’s, Victoria Besancon, told CNN Shaw has spent three weeks in a cramped detention facility, feeling “incredibly isolated.”

Besancon relayed to CNN that rooms contain 5 to 6 bunk beds and are locked from 8 pm to 8 am, but she has been able to call and recently video chat with Shaw daily.

Besancon said they were among the few English speakers in the facility.

Shaw’s son has been “very sad he lost his summer vacation to being locked in the facility.”

Shaw has used commissary funds to buy him ice cream and colored pencils to make him feel at home.

“There’s not a lot for kids to do. Maybe some colouring books. There’s no time for them to be outside,” Thorward said, adding detainees were left sweltering in the South Texas heat, where summer temperatures can reach up to 97 degrees.

The South Texas Family Residential Center, one of the largest of its kind in the US, primarily houses migrant women and children.

ICE says the detention cenres are safe. On its website, the agency includes a list of safety and health standards for family residential centres.