Le léopard m’a mangé le visage
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We discussed the story of the old French woman locked up by ICE over an inheritance dispute recently. Unsurprisingly, said French lady thought Trump was awesome before she herself was locked up.
The experience stunned Ms. Ross-Mahé, who previously considered herself a supporter of President Trump and so admired his policy to deport illegal immigrants that she thought it should be adopted in France.
“I didn’t think these things existed,” she said of the immigration facilities she was held in. “I thought that when we arrested them, we would treat them properly. It really shocked me.”
She added, “They treat them like dogs, not in a human way.”
Asked for comment, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement that “all detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.” It added that “ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens” and is “regularly audited and inspected by external agencies.”
Ms. Ross-Mahé said she and her American husband, Bill Ross, first dated in the 1950s, when they both worked at a NATO base on the outskirts of Nantes, in western France — she as a secretary, he as a soldier. Their romance was short-lived, she said, as he developed a relationship with one of her friends in town, Michèle Viaud, moving back to Alabama with her.
They stayed in touch over the decades as they built their lives and families. Mr. Ross married and raised two sons with Ms. Viaud, who died in 2018. Ms. Ross-Mahé had three children with her first husband, Bernard Goix, who died of lung cancer in 2022.
Mr. Ross sent her supportive messages when Bernard fell sick, she said.
Four months after Bernard died, Mr. Ross sent her a ticket to visit him in Alabama.
Their friendship quickly shifted to love. “Everything came back,” said Ms. Ross-Mahé. For almost two years, they flew between Alabama and France, visiting each other.
Turns out that being a racist never works out for you if the racist dogs decided you are not one of them.