SEATTLE — Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen and mother of three, thought she had done everything correctly when she crossed into Canada. She wanted to take her two older children to Vancouver International Airport for a trip to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Her youngest son, 6-year-old Isaac, came along.
The trip into Canada went smoothly, but problems started when they tried to return to the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Shaw and Isaac at the border.
“This was a simple administrative error,” said Shaw’s lawyer, Minda Thorward. “Anyone could have made it.”
Shaw is applying for permanent residency in the U.S. and has a “combo card,” a temporary document that allows her to work and travel. While her work authorization was approved, her advance parole, which lets her re-enter the U.S., had not yet been approved.
“She believed everything was ready for travel,” said family friend Victoria Besancon. “No one expected this to happen.”
Shaw has lived in the U.S. for three and a half years. She came here through her ex-husband and qualified to reapply for residency independently because she is a survivor of domestic abuse.
She is now being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, one of only two U.S. facilities for families facing deportation.
“Being treated like a criminal has been very embarrassing,” Besancon said. “It’s been especially hard that her job found out while this was happening.”
Shaw works for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families at Echo Glen Children’s Center, helping at-risk youth.
“She’s a civil servant helping kids in tough situations,” Besancon said.
Thorward said Shaw could still get her green card. She also criticized the current administration, saying, “They have chosen cruelty repeatedly.”
Even though Shaw didn’t have the proper travel document, her son Isaac did. “There was no reason for him to be detained. It’s unconscionable,” Thorward said.
Shaw asked Border Patrol to let Besancon pick up Isaac, but they refused.
Besancon has set up a GoFundMe to help pay Shaw’s rent and legal fees. Shaw has used up her savings while in detention.
