The Brief
Sarah Shaw, a Snohomish County mother from New Zealand, and her six-year-old son were detained at a Texas immigration facility after U.S. border agents said her travel permit expired, despite having a pending green card application.
Shaw's attorney argues the detention is due to an administrative error, as her work permit was renewed but not her travel authorization; Shaw's son, whose paperwork was in order, is also detained.
The Washington Federation of State Employees is advocating for Shaw's release, highlighting the impact on public workers, while Shaw's case is set for a hearing at the end of the month.
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. - A Snohomish County mother from New Zealand and her six-year-old son are being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Texas after U.S. border agents said her travel permit had expired.
Sarah Shaw, a state employee who lives in Everett, was detained July 24 when she tried to reenter the U.S. from Vancouver, B.C., with her youngest child after dropping her two older children off with their grandparents in New Zealand.
Shaw’s attorney said she has a pending green card application, which allows her to live and work in the U.S. and travel. The work portion of her permit was renewed, but the travel portion was not.
Snohomish County mother detained by ICE
The backstory
Her attorney called it an administrative error and said border agents had the discretion to let her back in the country. Instead, Shaw and her son were sent to the Dilley Detention Center, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio, one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the U.S. that primarily houses women and children.
Shaw has worked for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families for three years, counseling youth in a secure juvenile detention facility.
"She is a civil servant. She served some of the most at-risk youth in our community, counseling them in a maximum-medium-security juvenile detention facility. She's supposed to start graduate school," Sarah's friend Victoria Besancon said. "However, this experience has been the first time I've actually heard my friend cry. The first time I've heard her be almost hopeless in some situations. She feels like a criminal. She said it's the it's exactly what she would imagine prison to be like."
Attorney Minda Thorward said Shaw has no criminal history and thought she had the correct travel documents. She called the detention "unnecessary and cruel," especially for Shaw’s son, whose paperwork was in order.
"She made basically what amounts to an administrative error," Thorward said.
Shaw believed her work and travel authorization had been extended based on receipt notices she received after renewing her work permit. But Orward explained the mistake was in assuming the extension applied to both work and travel, when in fact it only covered her work authorization.
What they're saying
"Sarah is a survivor. She's a fighter. She's really strong. But she's also very stressed out about all of this," Thorward said. "She's repeatedly requested that her son be released, even at the border DHS refused to permit that. So his detention is unlawful. He should not be there. He should not be in removal proceedings. None of that should be happening."
Thorward said Shaw asked to be readmitted under humanitarian parole, but was denied.
While Shaw’s detention is technically legal, Orward stressed that it was not appropriate.
"Just because something is legal and permissible under a law doesn’t make it just or appropriate or right," Thorward said. "There’s no reason to detain her. She has no criminal history. She simply made a paperwork mistake."
What's next
The possibility of deportation remains a risk, though Orward said he’s hopeful it will not happen in this case due to public attention and support from the New Zealand consulate.
The attorney warns others going through the legal permanent residency process to avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary.
The Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents about 55,000 public workers, is calling for Shaw’s release. President Mike Yestramski said cases like hers could have serious consequences.
"One example, one of the employers that we represent is Harborview Medical Center, and a large amount of their employees are folks who immigrated to the United States from other countries," Yestramski said. "If you were to remove all of those people from Harborview hospital, our level one trauma center that literally saves lives, would not be able to run, that would have ripple effects across the entire Pacific Northwest."
Shaw’s case is set for a hearing at the end of the month. Her attorney is working to secure her release. ICE has not responded to FOX 13 Seattle’s request for comment.
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The Source
Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Alejandra Guzman.
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