Visa renewal leads to Arizona ICE detention for Canadian actress
YUMA (AZFamily) — Jasmine Mooney, a 35-year-old Canadian entrepreneur and actress, never imagined that renewing her work visa would result in a two-week detention in ICE custody.
She was initially detained at the San Diego border after entering the U.S. from Mexico through the San Ysidro Port of Entry to renew her work visa.
She denied entry, but she expected to be able to book a flight back to Canada. Instead, she was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Mooney spent several nights at a detention center in the San Diego area before being transferred to the San Luis Regional Detention Center in Arizona, where she described the conditions as inhumane.
At the facility in San Luis, she had no access to a phone or a lawyer and was held in a freezing cold cell alongside dozens of other women facing similar visa-related issues.
She compared the experience to being kidnapped.
“I do not wish it upon anyone, to be honest. Nobody deserves to go through that,” Mooney said in an interview after returning to Canada.
As an entrepreneur and actress with roles in American films, Mooney had previously lived in Los Angeles on a work visa.
After receiving a new job offer, she returned to the San Diego border to restart the visa process, never expecting to be detained.
“Next thing I know, I’m taken for two weeks. Haven’t been told anything, moved to different cells. Sleeping on cement, sleeping in different jail cells. Nothing made sense to me.”
When asked if she believed her detention was linked to President Trump’s tough immigration policies, Mooney said she still doesn’t understand why she was held for so long.
“I honestly have no idea. I don’t want to point fingers at anything. I really don’t know. Obviously, people can speculate what they want. I have no idea what just transpired,” she said.
An ICE spokesperson told CBS News that Mooney was processed in accordance with one of the many executive orders President Trump signed after starting his second term. They stated, “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removal from the U.S., regardless of nationality.”
Now, back in Canada, Mooney is using her voice to raise awareness about the conditions detainees face.
“I am not allowed to feel sorry for myself. Every single person in there is in a way worse situation than me,” she said.
She published an essay in the Guardian detailing her experience in custody.
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