The movements of a Kiwi mother-of-three who was detained in a US immigration centre alongside her 6-year-old son for three weeks remain heavily restricted, despite being released.
Sarah Shaw, 33, who is originally from Auckland, has opened up for the first time about the horrors they continue to endure.
Shaw and her youngest son, Isaac Shaw, 6, were released from the Dilley Immigration Processing Centre in Texas last week.
Today, Shaw spoke to the Herald via a family friend, Victoria Besancon, after being detained while crossing the US border from Canada three weeks ago.
Since they were released, Shaw has been placed on an ankle monitor with zero explanation of why and how to manage it, with no court order.
“She cannot go more than 70 feet [21m] away from home. They also confiscated her driver’s licence, her passport and ID, causing her to be unable to drive to or from work,” Besancon said.
“She doesn’t understand why they confiscated her identification while placing her in an ankle monitor, because they know exactly where she is.
“What’s the point of keeping her from being able to work?”
Shaw will likely be on an ankle monitor until all of her court hearings are over, Besancon said.
Her original court date was scheduled for August 29, however as the case has moved from Texas to Washington, there is no court date set as of yet.
“[Shaw] is recovering slowly. Trying to remain positive but also trying not to relive it over and over. She has had anxiety and a hard time sleeping.
“Isaac has been attached at her hip, very nervous but very happy to be home,” Shaw told Besancon.
Besancon said Shaw’s other children are scared to come back and she’s “incredibly worried” about their arrival.
Shaw, who lives in Washington State with her children, had mistakenly tried to leave and re-enter the United States without having both parts of her visa approved.
On July 24, Shaw was returning from putting her two older children on a flight to New Zealand from Vancouver when they were detained.
Shaw said the conditions were incredibly difficult on her mentally and physically.
“It’s very lonely and isolating ... when you mentally break or cry, it’s in front of your child and strangers, there’s absolutely zero privacy or time alone.”
“You can do every step right, you can get your needed paperwork done and you can get back to the border from vacation and be denied re-entry at will.”
Earlier this week, lawyer Minda Thorward told the Herald that Shaw was incredibly relieved and grateful to be out of detention.
“[They] are overcrowded, there is limited access to medical care, limited access to counsel and the food is horrendous,” Thorward said.
“You are basically locked in a room for a lot of the day. There is nowhere for kids to go outside. There is nothing to do, so they are just really bored.”
Thorward described detention centres as “worse than jail”.
Shaw arrived in the US as a tourist in 2021 and married a citizen.
After the marriage ended, Shaw filed an I-360 petition in 2022, Thorward told CNN.
Shaw had been living in the US under a “combo card,” a dual document that serves as both a work permit and travel document.
Shaw was not aware that the travel permit that allowed her to exit and re-enter the US had expired, which led to her being detained.
When it came time to renew the combo card, Shaw paid to have the work permit renewed, but didn’t renew the travel permit, Thorward told CNN.
A few months ago, Shaw received confirmation of her work permit renewal, but mistakenly believed it also extended her travel authorisation.
Thorward called this a “minor administrative paperwork error”.
The Dilley Immigration Processing Centre first opened in December 2014 and can hold up to 2400 people.
It made headlines this year over alleged inhumane conditions.
The Los Angeles Times reported there was concern over water quantity and quality, with some adults reportedly fighting children for clean water at the facility.
A GoFundMe page set up by family friend Besancon said: “Thanks to all of your support and advocating, Sarah and her son have been released!
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