Email
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
Link<\/p>\n
\n A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.\n <\/p>\n
\n Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand.\n <\/p>\n
\n Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn\u2019t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n But Shaw didn\u2019t realize the travel permit that allowed her to exit and re-enter the US had expired. That\u2019s when Shaw and her son, whose immigration documents were valid, were taken into custody by CBP.\n <\/p>\n
\n Shaw tried to get a humanitarian parole<\/a>, which would have allowed her to enter the US and return home, but she was denied, her attorney said.\n <\/p>\n \n Shaw then asked if her boyfriend or a friend could pick up her son since his documents were up to date, but she was again denied, Thorward said.\n <\/p>\n \n They were transported to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, roughly 2,000 miles from their home.\n <\/p>\n \n Shaw\u2019s detention is among the latest examples of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, which, despite pledges to focus on violent criminals, has also swept up lawful residents like Shaw.\n <\/p>\n \n Shaw arrived in the US as a tourist in 2021 and married a citizen that year. Shortly after, the marriage ended, and she filed an I-360 petition in April 2022, her lawyer told CNN. Her application remains under review after multiple delays.\n <\/p>\n \n Shaw had been living in the US under a \u201ccombo card,\u201d a dual document that serves as both a work permit and travel document. She secured the permit through her job working for Washington state, her lawyer said.\n <\/p>\n \n When it came time to renew both parts of the combo card, Shaw paid to have the work permit renewed, but didn\u2019t renew the travel permit \u201cbecause she didn\u2019t have any plans for travel at that time and it\u2019s expensive,\u201d Thorward said.\n <\/p>\n \n In June, Shaw received confirmation of her work permit renewal, but mistakenly believed it also extended her travel authorization \u2013 a \u201cminor administrative paperwork error\u201d \u2013 according to her lawyer.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cShe had completely re-established herself. She had a full-time job, an apartment, adopted a dog, a new boyfriend, and the kids were in school and doing great,\u201d Thorward said. \u201cShe made a mistake, but she has no previous convictions \u2013 none. This is a very clean case.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Shaw told Thorward the Department of Homeland Security said she may be released on Friday, but Thorward said she has not received any direct updates from authorities. CNN has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding Shaw\u2019s case.\n <\/p>\n \n New Zealand\u2019s foreign affairs ministry said it was in contact with Shaw but declined to provide further details for privacy reasons.\n <\/p>\n \n Set to begin a master\u2019s program in psychology this month at Northwest University, Shaw is worried about whether she will be released from detention in time, her lawyer said.\n <\/p>\n \n Thorward said border officials had the discretion to grant Shaw humanitarian parole rather than detaining her.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was not necessary, inappropriate and inhumane (to detain Shaw and her son),\u201d Thorward said. \u201cShe\u2019s lawfully in the country. She\u2019s been doing everything in good faith.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In a statement to CNN, a CBP spokesperson said that individuals with expired parole trying to re-enter the US would be detained in compliance with immigration laws.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf they are accompanied by a minor, CBP will follow all protocols to keep families together or arrange care with a legal guardian,\u201d a spokesperson said.\n <\/p>\n \n A friend of Shaw\u2019s, Victoria Besancon, told CNN Shaw has spent three weeks in a cramped detention facility, feeling \u201cincredibly isolated.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cEach room contains 5 to 6 bunk beds, and rooms are locked from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.,\u201d Besancon told CNN, adding that she has been able to phone Shaw daily and recently video chat.\n <\/p>\n \n Besancon said they were among the few English speakers in the facility.\n <\/p>\n \n Shaw\u2019s son has been \u201cvery sad he lost his summer vacation to being locked in the facility.\u201d Shaw has used commissary funds to buy him ice cream and colored pencils to make him feel at home.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere\u2019s not a lot for kids to do. Maybe some coloring books. There\u2019s no time for them to be outside,\u201d Thorward said, adding detainees were left sweltering in the South Texas heat, where summer temperatures can reach up to 97 degrees.\n <\/p>\n \n The South Texas Family Residential Center, one of the largest of its kind in the US, primarily houses migrant women and children. After closing last year,<\/a> it reopened in March under an agreement between a private prison operator<\/a> and ICE, with a capacity to detain up to 2,400 people.\n <\/p>\n![\"Immigrants](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ap25219726814125.jpg\")
<\/p>\n