Feds detain mother with Green Card living in US for more than 20 years

A Massachusetts mother who has lived legally in the U.S. for more than two decades was detained at Boston’s Logan International Airport this month and remains in custody after federal agents raised a decades-old marijuana conviction.

According to a report by Boston 25 News, Jemmy Rosa, 42, of Canton, Massachusetts, was returning from a family vacation in Mexico with her husband and three young daughters on Aug. 11 when Customs and Border Protection officers pulled her aside. Rosa, who was traveling with a valid U.S. green card renewed in July, had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession at age 20 and served probation.

Newsweek has reached out to Customs and Border Protection and Rosa’s legal representation via email on Tuesday evening.

Why It Matters

The detention comes amid President Donald Trump’s administration’s crackdown on immigrants, with some long-term residents facing renewed scrutiny and detention despite complying with routine immigration processes. Many with past convictions, even from decades ago, have found themselves in ICE custody despite spending years without facing serious immigration problems.

What to Know

A U.S. citizen, Marcel Rosa, Jemmy Rosa’s husband, told Boston 25’s Kerry Kavanaugh that he handed over all the passports and his wife’s green card before officers took her for questioning.

Rosa’s family and attorney say Jemmy Rosa was held at Logan for four days without access to her medication, a phone call, or a shower. Her husband told the TV station that she suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes and mental health conditions.

Boston immigration attorney Todd Pomerleau told Boston 25 he had no contact with her during that time.