A short trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake led a Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son to spend more than three weeks in US immigration detention, her attorney told CNN.
Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since 2021, was stopped at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint while returning home. She had just dropped her two oldest children at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand.
Shaw, 33, chose the Vancouver flight because it was direct, and she didn’t want her children to handle a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward told CNN.
However, Shaw did not realize her travel permit, which allowed her to leave and return to the US, had expired. Because of this, she and her son, whose documents were valid, were taken into custody by CBP.
Shaw tried to get humanitarian parole, which would have let her return home, but she was denied, her attorney said.
She also asked if her boyfriend or a friend could pick up her son, since his documents were up to date, but this was denied as well, Thorward said.
They were sent to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, about 2,000 miles from their home.
Shaw’s detention is part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Even though officials said they would focus on violent criminals, lawful residents like Shaw have also been affected.
Shaw came to the US as a tourist in 2021 and married a US citizen. The marriage ended soon after, and she filed an I-360 petition in April 2022, her lawyer told CNN. Her application is still under review after several delays.
Shaw had been living in the US with a “combo card,” a document that works as both a work permit and a travel permit. She got the permit through her Washington state job, her lawyer said.
When it was time to renew the card, Shaw renewed her work permit but not the travel permit. “She didn’t plan to travel, and it’s expensive,” Thorward said.
In June, Shaw got confirmation her work permit was renewed, but she thought this also renewed her travel permit. Her lawyer called this a “minor administrative paperwork error.”
“She had completely re-established herself. She had a full-time job, an apartment, adopted a dog, a new boyfriend, and the kids were doing well,” Thorward said. “She made a mistake, but she has no prior convictions. This is a very clean case.”
Shaw told Thorward that the Department of Homeland Security might release her on Friday, but Thorward has not received direct updates. CNN reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Shaw’s case.
New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry said it is in contact with Shaw but gave no other details due to privacy.
Shaw is supposed to start a master’s program in psychology this month at Northwest University. She worries about whether she will be released in time, her lawyer said.
Thorward said border officials could have allowed Shaw humanitarian parole instead of 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 following all rules in good faith.”
A CBP spokesperson said people with expired parole trying to re-enter the US are detained according to immigration laws.
“If they are accompanied by a minor, CBP will follow all protocols to keep families together or arrange care with a legal guardian,” the spokesperson said.
A friend of Shaw’s, Victoria Besancon, told CNN that Shaw has spent three weeks in a small detention facility and feels “incredibly isolated.”
“Each room has 5 to 6 bunk beds, and rooms are locked from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.,” Besancon said. She added she can call and video chat with Shaw.
Shaw’s son has been “very sad he lost his summer vacation” because of the detention. Shaw buys him ice cream and colored pencils from the commissary to make him feel more comfortable.
“There’s not much for kids to do. Maybe some coloring books. They don’t get to go outside,” Thorward said. Detainees face hot summer temperatures up to 97 degrees in South Texas.
The South Texas Family Residential Center mainly houses migrant women and children. It reopened in March after closing last year and can hold up to 2,400 people.
Other mothers detained with their children have said the experience is traumatic and can affect kids for a long time. ICE says the centers are safe and lists safety and health standards for family facilities.
The Dilley facility is “retrofitted for families,” an ICE spokesperson said, with medical, dental, and mental health care available.
