Sarah Shaw from New Zealand did everything right — but the U.S. immigration system failed her and her 6-year-old son.

In July, Sarah, a legal resident and youth counselor in Washington state, was detained at the U.S.-Canada border over a visa renewal issue. It was an administrative error — a paperwork delay.

But instead of resolving it through proper channels, immigration officials sent her and her young son thousands of miles away to the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, one of the only facilities in the country that still holds families.

They were held for more than three weeks. No criminal record. No threat. Just a mother and child torn from their home due to bureaucratic failure.

Sarah Shaw and her son were just released.

This isn’t just a mistake. It’s a violation of human rights — and it left a lasting scar. Sarah’s union has called the experience “traumatic” and warned that the damage to her and her son “may never be healed.”

And yet, there has been no formal apology. No compensation. No promise that it won’t happen again.

We are calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to:

• Publicly acknowledge and apologize for the wrongful detention of Sarah Shaw and her son
• Provide fair financial compensation for the harm caused
• Create a transparent process for reviewing similar cases and preventing future detentions based on administrative errors
   

This is not about politics. It’s about dignity, accountability, and basic human decency. A child spent weeks in detention for no reason. A working mother was treated like a criminal. That cannot be ignored.

Sign this petition if you believe the U.S. government must take responsibility and make it right.