India, Nov. 20 -- A woman from Cape Verde who has had a green card for at least 40 years is being held by US federal agents without a legal justification, her attorney has alleged. 48-year-old Eva Mendes, who has held a green card since she was eight, has a misdemeanor charge from 20 years ago.

Mendes spent nearly two weeks in detention at Boston Logan International Airport. She was detained by Border Patrol agents after she had visited her mother.

Mendes is a grandmother who lives in Rhode Island. Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told Newsweek that she had missed the birth of her first grandchild while she was being held in unsuitable conditions.

"This case is just another issue of unlawful immigration abuse. It's just unconstitutional d...