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yesterday

New Zealand Mother and Son Held in South Texas After Visa Petition Delay

Advocates say an administrative hold on her I-360 petition wrongfully extended detention for a mother with her young son

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Sarah Shaw with her children. Six-year-old Isaac is at right. Sarah and Isaac have been detained in a Texas ICE facility for nearly three weeks.
New Zealand mother Sarah Shaw, 33, and her six-year-old son Isaac remain detained in the U.S. after a brief stop in Vancouver to see off her eldest children.

Overview

  • Sarah Shaw and her six-year-old son have been held at ICE’s Dilley processing center in South Texas since July 24 after officers flagged a still-pending I-360 visa petition.
  • Their advocates report prison-like confinement with nightly cell lockdowns, confiscated phones, limited access to legal counsel and English-only communications.
  • Shaw’s combo card, which pairs employment authorization with a domestic-abuse visa petition, was partly approved, triggering her detention when the I-360 component remained unresolved.
  • The Washington Federation of State Employees has called for their immediate release, denouncing what it describes as an avoidable administrative error that could have been handled through humanitarian parole.
  • New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry says it remains in contact with Shaw as her case highlights growing concerns over U.S. border enforcement of visa holders.