A US mother and her 6-year-old son were released this week after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention, following a brief trip to Canada and what her attorney called a minor paperwork mistake. Sarah Shaw, a 33-year-old New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the U.S. since 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, border checkpoint while returning from Vancouver, where she had dropped her two older children off for a flight to New Zealand to visit their grandparents. Shaw’s attorney, Minda Thorward, told CNN that Shaw didn’t realize her travel permit—part of a “combo card” granting both work and travel authorization—had expired. Although her son’s documents were valid, both were taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection and transferred nearly 2,000 miles away to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.In June, Shaw received confirmation of her work permit renewal, but mistakenly believed it also extended her travel authorization – a “minor administrative paperwork error” – according to her lawyer.“She 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,” Thorward said. “She made a mistake, but she has no previous convictions – none. This is a very clean case.”Shaw, who works for the state of Washington and had just renewed her work permit, mistakenly believed the renewal also extended her travel authorization. Her attorney said she applied for humanitarian parole, which would have allowed her to return home, but was denied. Requests for her boyfriend or a friend to collect her son were also rejected. A friend of Shaw’s, Victoria Besancon, told CNN Shaw has spent three weeks in a cramped detention facility, feeling “incredibly isolated.” “Each room contains 5 to 6 bunk beds, and rooms are locked from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.,” Besancon told CNN, adding that she has been able to phone Shaw daily and recently video chat. Her son, who had expected to spend summer vacation at home, spent weeks confined indoors with limited activities. “There’s not a lot for kids to do—maybe some coloring books,” Thorward said. Shaw arrived in the U.S. in 2021, married a citizen that year, and later filed an I-360 petition after the marriage ended. Her application remains pending. She has since built a life in Washington—working full time, raising her children, and preparing to begin a master’s degree in psychology this month at Northwest University. A CBP spokesperson defended the detention, saying individuals with expired parole documents must be held under immigration law. ICE has insisted its family facilities are safe and equipped with medical, dental, and mental health services, though critics argue the conditions are traumatizing for children. New Zealand’s foreign ministry confirmed it was in contact with Shaw but declined to share details, citing privacy.
