According to her friend and supporter, a New Zealand lady is being wrongfully “treated like a criminal” at a US immigration center after she and her six-year-old son were arrested while crossing the Canada-US border.
In order for her two oldest children to take a direct flight back to New Zealand for a vacation with their grandparents, Sarah Shaw, 33, a New Zealander who has lived in Washington state for just over three years, dropped them off at Vancouver airport on July 24.
Victoria Besancon, Shaw’s friend who is raising money for her legal battle, described the experience of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when she tried to re-enter the United States with her youngest kid as “terrifying.”
“Sarah thought she was being kidnapped,” she said. “They didn’t really explain anything to her at first, they just kind of quietly took her and her son and immediately put them in like an unmarked white van,” reports The Guardian.
According to Besancon, ICE took Shaw’s phone away and took the mother and son to the Dilley immigration processing center in South Texas, which is many states away from Shaw’s home. In a similar vein, foreign nationals entangled in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown have been moved to facilities distant from their families, support systems, and legal counsel.
“It has been absolutely horrible,” Besancon said, adding that Shaw and her son are the only people who speak English, except the staff. They are also prohibited from wearing their own clothes and are imprisoned in their single bedroom from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
ICE forcibly detains mother & 6 year old son—confined in “isolated” & “abusive” conditions.
Agents confiscated her phone & denied access to lawyer warning: “You better be careful who you speak to.”
She legally worked as state employee in Washington with a “combo visa”—an… pic.twitter.com/zAtzToJ5x8
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) August 11, 2025
Shaw is on what is known as a “combo card” visa — an employment visa, which she earned through her position at a maximum security juvenile institution, and an I-360 visa, which can offer immigration status to domestic abuse survivors.
Shaw was unaware that the I-360 component of her visa was still awaiting clearance until she recently received a letter verifying her visa renewal. “It wasn’t until she tried to come back across the border that she realised only half of the combination card – because it’s only one physical card – had been fully approved,” said Besancon.
Yet ANOTHER example of #ICE overkill. Due to a minor administrative error, #SarahShaw and her 6 year old son have been in custody for 3 weeks, and are STILL there. Disgraceful and unnecessary as she is no threat. https://t.co/Co2RxIOdPL
— Janet M. Webster (@janetmwebster73) August 13, 2025
Besancon stated that border officers could have applied for humanitarian parole and did not need to hold Shaw. Besancon claimed that her youngest kid was being held “illegally” because all three of Shaw’s children had their I-360 visas granted.
According to Yestramski, the union “vehemently opposes ICE practices” and the larger immigration policies that support them since they are incompatible with American ideals and human rights.
The foreign affairs ministry of New Zealand stated that it is in communication with Shaw, but that privacy concerns prevent it from providing additional commentary on the situation.
