A woman from New Zealand and her six-year-old son, who experienced ‘appalling’ conditions during a three-week stay at a US immigration center, have finally been freed.
Sarah Shaw, aged 33, residing in Washington State for the last three years, was taken into custody with her son Isaac during a standard border crossing on July 24.
Friend Victoria Besancon, who organised a GoFundMe campaign to support the family, wrote the pair had finally been released on Saturday.
‘Thanks to all of your support and advocating Sarah and her son have been released!’ Ms Besancon wrote on the fundraiser page.
‘While her lawyer’s words were “the war is not over” and there are still legal battles to be had, this portion has been won!
‘Gratitude to all who supported, contributed, and reached out to help. We will provide more updates as the story progresses. However, they are now safe at home.’
The duo was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 24 and subsequently taken to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center located in South Texas.
The incident occurred when they were returning from a trip to Vancouver, where they had accompanied Ms. Shaw’s two older children to the airport for their flight back to New Zealand.
Sarah Shaw, a Kiwi mother (pictured), faced detention in the US, along with her youngest son, for over three weeks due to a minor administrative issue with her visa.
Ms Shaw was forced to endure ‘horrific’ conditions with limited communication, her friend said
Her father, Rod Price, told Radio New Zealand Ms Shaw managed to call him in the frantic moments before was locked up.
‘She went to go back across into the US and then I got a frantic call to say that she’s being detained and “they’re about to take my phone off me” and “they’re locking me up for the night”,’ Mr Price said.
A New Zealand citizen, Ms Shaw lives in the US on a ‘combo card’ visa – which combines a work permit with an I-360 visa, available to survivors of domestic violence committed by a citizen.
Ms Shaw, who works as a youth counsellor at a juvenile detention facility, legally obtained I-360 visas for all three of her children, including Isaac.
Before making the journey, she received a letter confirming her work visa had been renewed, but didn’t realise the I-360 visa approval was still pending.
Ms Shaw requested humanitarian parole, an emergency pass into the US, but was told she wasn’t eligible.
‘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,’ Ms Besancon said.
US Customs and Border Protection advises without both elements of the ‘combo card’, a person may face deportation as reentry is not guaranteed.
Friend Victoria Besancon said the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement needed to be ‘held accountable’ for the treatment Ms Shaw and other families have been subjected to
Ms Besancon said the Kiwi mum was subjected to ‘horrible, isolated conditions’ in detention with ‘extremely limited’ access to communication.
She said Ms Shaw was ‘heartbroken’ at the way other families were treated in the detention facility and hoped to work to assist them upon release.
‘ICE needs to be held accountable and Sarah’s rights, along with her children’s well-being, needs to be protected.
Ms Shaw’s is only the latest case in a string of foreigners facing tough conditions at the US border, including Aussie Nikki Saroukos, 25, who told the Daily Mail she was detained, stripped and held overnight in Hawaii for ‘having too much luggage’.
A representative for the Washington Federation of State Employees, Ms Shaw’s union, said she and her son had suffered a trauma that ‘may never be healed’.
Ms Besancon said she will continue to provide updates as the young family recovers and continues to engage with its lawyers.
The GoFundMe campaign was arranged to fund the family’s legal costs and living expenses while Ms Shaw is unable to work. It has so far raised more than AU$90,000.
