A routine visa application turned into a prolonged ordeal for Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney, who was detained for nearly two weeks by US immigration authorities at the San Ysidro border crossing earlier this month.
Mooney, 35, who appeared in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, had planned to enter the US to start a marketing job with a health and wellness startup. Expecting only minor hurdles, she was instead informed that her work permit paperwork was flagged and that she should have applied at a US consulate. Instead of being allowed to withdraw her application and return home, she was taken into custody by immigration and customs enforcement (ICE).
Detention and shackles
The former actress described the experience as distressing. “They say, ‘Hands on the wall,'” Mooney recalled. She spent two days in a holding cell at the border station, sleeping on a mat with a mylar blanket, before being transferred in shackles to an ICE detention centre near San Diego.
“They put you in chains,” she said. “That’s when I realized they are onboarding me into a real prison.”
Her case highlights an increase in unexplained border detentions under shifting US immigration policies. Similar cases have surfaced, including a German green card holder arrested in Boston and two German tourists detained at the same border crossing before being deported.
Visa complications
Mooney was applying for a TN visa, which permits Canadian and Mexican professionals to work temporarily in the US. She had initially applied the previous year, but her request was denied due to missing letterhead on documents. A successful reapplication allowed her to enter the US, but upon returning at the end of November, officials at Vancouver’s airport revoked her visa, citing procedural issues and concerns over one of her employers, a company selling hemp-based products.
Mooney said that applying for visas at San Ysidro is common for Canadians working in Southern California, so she tried again. However, Leonard DM Saunders, an immigration attorney in Washington state, had warned her about potential risks given the current political climate. “You hear all this stuff with these Columbia students being detained,” he said. “What was different? The new political climate.”
Harsh detention conditions
Mooney described difficult conditions while in ICE custody. She and other detainees were shackled, fingerprinted, and subjected to invasive questioning, including inquiries about sexual assault and suicide history. She was also required to take a pregnancy test in an open cell environment.
“We had to pee in open Dixie cups in the cell, and the bathrooms are open,” she said.
Her situation gained media attention after she spoke with San Diego’s KGTV, sparking criticism from Canadian officials. British Columbia premier David Eby condemned her detention, calling it “reckless” and warning of the impact on cross-border relations.
“The harm this does to the US economy through impacted tourism, business relationships, and skilled workers being turned away—it is reckless,” Eby said. “This woman should be brought back to Canada as quickly as possible.”
Deportation and a five-year ban
After 12 days, Mooney was finally released and placed on an Air Canada flight to Vancouver. Her roommate, who covered the $1,100 ticket cost, met her at the airport along with her mother. However, she now faces a five-year ban from reentering the US and plans to appeal the decision.
“I love America,” she said. “I love my friends there. I love the life I was building and the opportunities.”
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