Remember that time we got detained in France?
I know y’all have been waiting on this one!
My mom’s 60th birthday was August 8th. We planned a trip to Italy, Croatia, and Greece. My mother is a permanent resident of the US which means she has a Jamaican passport and a green card. You do not become eligible for a U.S. passport until you become a naturalized citizen of the USA.
We booked our flights, cruise, excursions and accommodations a little over a year ago but little did we know we were about to have the worst and probably one of the most frightening experiences of our life.
My mom flew from Tampa—where she lives— to ATL. I picked her up at the domestic terminal near the luggage carousel. We grabbed her checked bag and then took one bus and one train to the international terminal. Once we got to the Delta check in counter we were told, “You are both all cleared to travel to Venice.” We made it onto the plane seamlessly and got very comfortable in the comfort+ seats I had sprung for. I also surprised my mom by giving her a shout out over the Delta intercom. She was swooning and happy. Special shout out to Delta for facilitating this.
Unfortunately, the Delta flight was late leaving for Paris. My mom and I were anxious that the delay would throw a wrench into getting to the port and cruise on time. We had started imagining scenarios where we stay in Venice and enjoy our time there if getting to the cruise proved to be impossible. After a 8.5hr flight, my mom and I get to Paris. Our first challenge was once we got to the first security check point, we were turned away and told that we need to go and get new boarding passes as they would not honor the digital pass on my cellphone. I remember thinking, hmmm, that’s weird?!?? Getting new boarding passes took 45min. We returned to the security check point and our bags were scanned. We transitioned to what seemed like the American equivalent of customs and that was where the fun began…
My mom and I were told that my documents were fine as a US citizen with a US passport but that my mother would not be able to travel as she did not have the right visa. We accepted this with much disappointment and planned to walk back to Delta to adjust our return flight and make alternate arrangements for travel. The French officer then notified us that in fact, my mother would be detained and held in France until tomorrow morning under the supervision of the French police. I would be expected to fly back to the United states alone that day. Internally, I felt like I’d been shot. But in true Jackson form, I looked the officer in his face and said respectfully, “Absolutely not!”
I adamantly refused to leave my 60-year-old mother—who is on multiple medications—alone in a country where she had no currency and doesn’t speak the language. I had assessed this situation very early out and knew I was at their mercy, so it behooved me to be cooperative and compliant but there is a line and they had crossed it. I emphasized and pleaded with them regarding how unsafe it would be for them to detain her alone and they agreed.
The desk officer had been frantically making phone calls to his supervisor while we waited at his desk. The line grew longer and longer behind us and the furious glances of other waiting travelers didn’t make this any easier. After about 20minutes, 2 officers with guns showed up. They asked us to follow them and we walked a short way. I was still feeling hopeful that maybe these would be the men that help us. As we were walking, one officer stops, turns to me and my mom, and notified us that they would be separating me and my mother. As a favor, they would try to put us both on a 11:30am flight back to ATL.
We get to a large white room, they hand me my passport, bag tags and old boarding passes and I am instructed to wait there until they come and get me for my flight. There is nowhere to sit and so I get comfortable on the ground and start making phone calls. I found an English speaking immigration lawyer and shoot them a quick email. I called Royal Caribbean and let them know we would not be on the cruise and queried regarding refunds: they charged me a $1700 cruise cancellation fee and notified me that I would be refunded the $4342 cruise fare in 2weeks. The nearly $1000 I spent on excursions, specialty dining and internet could possibly be returned as cruise credit but they weren’t sure and they would be in touch. I then checked delta’s website to see what flights they had going back to ATL that day and verified that there were seats on the 11:30am flight. I cancelled my Marriott hotel in Venice with one click. I complete these tasks in 20min. I then start calling and texting my mom with no reply. I achieved a new level of panic. 20minutes becomes 50minutes. Officers were entering and leaving this large white room and I started asking these largely non-English speaking officers for updates. I felt like I was hanging on to the tail of their garments begging for spare change. It was not my cutest moment. The unanimous answer was, “Just wait.”
My mom later tells me that during this time. They took all her belongings including her money and medicines. She was due for her medicine and was not given anything to eat or drink during that time despite her requests. She missed several doses of her medicine. She was so afraid that she didn’t even realize her phone was ringing or that I was texting. She said, ”I just wanted to cooperate and get home.”
At 10:50am I am reconnected with my mom. She appears physically unharmed but the dried tears on her face were unmistakeable. The two officers from earlier tell us that we must now move quickly as they are going to try to get us on the 11:30am flight, we have 40minutes to get our boarding passes, clear security and get from terminal 2F to 2E. My mom and I are separated for a second time and I am taken to the delta counter to pick up our boarding passes. During this time my mom was held in a second white room. Once we reconnected, we met two new armed officers, they chatted briefly in French and my mom and I were handed over to them. The walk bordered on a run and we made it to the gate as one of the last 10 passengers before gate closure.
The officers then took my mother’s passport and green card and gave it to the pilot and we were told they would not be returned to her until she landed on US soil. We boarded and made our way to the last seats on the plane, you know, the ones by the toilet. My mom and I made the best of the ride home, playing crossword puzzles and watching tv. The flight attendant who was covering our section was very deliberate in providing us the best service and explained that she heard what happened to us.
We land in ATL after a 9-hour flight and were met on the jet-bridge by a delta staff member who asked, “Are these the 2 deportees?” I remembered thinking, “This is where I go to jail, right here on US soil, they’re going to reverse hog-tie me and take me out, after and knock this guy clear into 2045.” My mom said, “What did you just call us?” I could tell she was about to be my neighboring inmate and so I gently grabbed and squeezed her arm, she fell silent. We followed this agent who handed us over to a Delta representative named John.
I think God sent John. I’m not a super religious person, but right when it was about to be I’ve had enough and Im ready for my orange jump suit. John jumped in and de-escalated. John walked us to immigration and I explained to him what had happened to us in the last day. He fell silent and just listened. I explained to the US customs officer what happened and for the first time I was choking up. I explained to him that, “I’m a ER physician and my mom is an accountant. I know black people are often criminalized but my mom and I are peaceful people. This white customs officer became flushed. I said, “We have been extremely cooperative despite how we were treated and we just want to go home.”
We were then escorted to the agricultural unit, where our carry-on luggage was scanned. We were then taken to customer service. John explained that we never should have been able to leave the US without the right documents and at the very least when we tried to get new boarding passes at the Delta desk in Paris, they should have not been re-issued. John provided me with $500 in Delta credit, told us how to file a complaint regarding “Trip-in-vain” and attempted to issue a full flight refund. I will let y’all know when I receive it. We still don’t know where our checked luggage is, and no one has been able to tell us where our bags are.
So fellow travelers my advice today is simple. If you have a permanent residency card and foreign passport, call the consulate/embassy of the layover country as well as your final destination before you travel. There are a few countries that do not observe the US permanent residency card as holding the same travel privileges as the U.S. passport. Italy is one of those countries and so you must have the right visa (there are several). Also, get travel insurance and be familiar with what exactly they will and will not cover. Chase Sapphire Reserve travel insurance stated that our circumstance is listed as an exclusion criteria for any claim.
What I think will sit with me and my mom forever is how her 60th birthday celebration was ruined and I don’t think either of us will forget how we were treated.
