Held by ICE for 12 Days Over Visa Renewal, Canadian Actress Tells Her Story

HARI SREENIVASAN: Christiane, thanks. Jasmine Mooney, thanks so much for joining us. Jasmine, our audience might have heard a little bit about your story. You were somebody who’s an entrepreneur, an actress, and you have been working in Canada and the United States, but you were recently detained for 12 days. Why were you kind of between these countries and what made you wanna go get another work visa for the United States?

 

JASMINE MOONEY: So my visa journey started a year ago.  I had this amazing opportunity to launch a brand called Holy Water out of California that is holistic medicine, metabolic health. And I went to originally apply for my TN visa a year ago. 

 

SREENIVASAN: What is a TN visa? For people who might not know.

 

MOONEY: A TN visa is a business consultant visa. And so I originally applied for that visa in, at the Canadian border, and I got denied over some minor paperwork issues. And the agent told me, you can come back tomorrow and reapply. 

And so my lawyer, he was based in San Diego and he told me, you know what, Jasmine just come down to San Diego. I’ll come with you to the office to make sure that nothing is missing in your paperwork, and we’ll just get this done. So that’s what I did. And I went down there and I got my visa within half an hour, and I was then working in California. And I still had my place in, in, in Canada, in Vancouver. So I was going back and forth, no issues there for just under a year. 

And the first issue I had started four months ago. So I was in Vancouver traveling back to LA and I got stopped and the agent told me, he’s like, “why were you originally denied? And then went to that to the San Diego border. That seems really shady.” And I explained my situation and he told me, well, you aren’t allowed to process visas there. 

 

SREENIVASAN:  Were you in America at the time or were you in Canada at the time? 

 

MOONEY: I was in Canada. I was traveling back to LA and they stopped me and then I wasn’t allowed back into the country until I got that sorted.  So I actually got offered another position with another health and wellness brand, and I talked to lawyers. I said, I wanna reapply for my TN visa and work with this company. Is that an issue? And they said, no. And, and I said, well, I wanna go to the same office that I went to. Should that be an issue? No. The worst that would happen is you get denied, like you’ve been denied before. And then we figure that out after that. So never in a million years did I think that what happened to me would’ve happened.

 

SREENIVASAN: So you went to the United States to the Customs and Border Protection Office, is that right?

 

MOONEY: So it wasn’t America. it’s the Mexican border that goes into San Diego. So that’s where my visa was processed before. I was familiar with it, I had no issues. And so I went back there. 

 

SREENIVASAN: So you had not been in the United States illegally up until you walked across the border to go to the border patrol office? Am I right there?

 

MOONEY: Yeah. So it was the immigration office. You walk in through Mexico into the immigration office where they process visas. That’s where I was.

 

SREENIVASAN: Okay. And then what happens?

 

MOONEY: So I get there, I have all my paperwork, and it was just such a rollercoaster. First they said I wasn’t eligible for this visa. And then they called their supervisor and I was, then they approved my visa, and then I was sitting down, and while they were processing my visa, they said that there’s issues with my passport because it was gonna expire in two years. So it was just one thing after another. I was in that office for I think six hours. And finally at the very end, I was sitting there while they, after they had said like, we, yes, you are eligible for this visa. I get called back up and they go, okay, we’re so sorry. But unfortunately, because you’ve had issues with your visa in the past with it, the denial and it being voided to, in order to get your visa, you need to apply through the consulate.

And I said, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I’ll go, I’ll go do that. And they go, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re not in trouble. You’re not a criminal. And at the time I thought that language was very odd, like, why would they use that? 

 And they go, but we have to send you back to Canada. And I said, okay. Like, I was planning on going back anyway. 

And then this man came out and he said, Jasmine, please follow me. And he took me to this room and that’s where it all happened. And with no warning, all my stuff was taken. My phone was taken, hands against the wall. I started getting pat down. They said, take off your shoes. And they started ripping my shoe laces outta my shoes, which at the time I had no idea what that meant. And then later on found out that, so you don’t hang yourself in prison. Was taken and I was placed into a cell with five other girls where we slept on the ground on this tiny mat and had aluminum foil wrapped around our bodies, like dead bodies. And I was in there for 48 hours before anyone talked to me or I was allowed to make a phone call. I didn’t get that phone call until day three.

 

SREENIVASAN: And then where were you? Did you stay in that jail the whole time or where were you transferred?

 

MOONEY: So I was still in that jail. And then after that call, I was given a stack of paperwork that told me that I was banned from the u– from America for five years. Unless I appeal and go through the consulate, sign here, sign here, sign here. And then the woman told me, it doesn’t matter if you sign or not though, like this is happening regardless. And I said, how long am I gonna be here? Can I plea– I’ll book my flight home. And she goes, I don’t know how long you’re gonna be here. I’m just doing my job. And then that is when they transferred me to Otay Mesa,  the first jail that I was in.

 

SREENIVASAN: Sorry. How many jails were you in?

 

MOONEY: I was in two. I was in two jails. I was transferred three times. When they transfer you, they’ve put you in chains. I had chains wrapped around my waist, handcuffs on my hands that were attached to my waist, handcuffs on my feet. They transferred you. That’s when I got transferred to Otay Mesa. And then a few days later they transferred me to Arizona. 

 

SREENIVASAN: What was the treatment like? What were the people that were in there with you like?

 

MOONEY:  The first jail I was in, there were about, I’d say 140 girls, women. And every single one of them, not one of us had a criminal record. So when you’re placed in jail, the color of your prison outfit reflects your criminal status. So I was placed in the unit with zero criminal records. everyone’s story was different of why they were in there, but a lot of similarities between the women and I had been – I got out within two weeks. Majority of the women are in there for months.

And I’m telling you that place, these detention centers, everything in there is made to make you break into a million pieces. I have never seen this before. I had no idea that this existed for the non-criminals. Like they would just do the weirdest things like we’d get placed into these cells that were freezing cold. I’m talking like we’d be on the ground like huddling, shivering. I’m like, we’re gonna get hypothermia here. No blankets, nothing. Just the, they would wake you up in the middle of the night. The food was not food. I wouldn’t even feed it to a dog. The water was from tap water from our toilets. They’d give you one styrofoam cup and one plastic spoon to reuse after every meal. Like the second jail I was in, we didn’t get to stretch our legs and be – and it’s not even fresh air. Like it’s like this another cell with a tiny sliver of fresh air. And we didn’t get to go out there until day four.  And the thing with this place is if you go to jail, you are sentenced. And you know, when you’re getting out. In here, you have no idea. And these women haven’t seen their husbands, they haven’t seen their children, they’re losing their jobs. It’s just, I, I honestly could not believe that this is happening.

 

SREENIVASAN: What were the range of reasons why some of the women that were in that facility with you said that they were there?

 

MOONEY: So there were a lot of freak accidents, like me. I met this one woman who, her and her husband have working visas in America. They’re both pastors and they were on a road trip in San Diego and they accidentally went into the wrong lane and were about to cross the Mexican border. And they stopped their car and they said, no, no, no, we can’t cross the border. We don’t have our passports. And the guard was like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, just go on ahead and turn around. And then they got put into the system. 

  I met people similar to me who got taken from the immigration office when they were reapplying. And then you have all of the women from countries all over the world who have come to America to seek asylum. So all different backgrounds. But we were all placed in this cell together.

 

SREENIVASAN: So how did you finally get out? What was the thing that actually worked in getting, was it their attention, or what happened? 

 

MOONEY:  Nothing is for certain, but what I can tell you is when I was placed into the second jail, I started freaking out because of the conditions.  And one of the girls gave me her phone call because for some reason she could set up a phone, her like phone account. But because my number was a Canadian number, I couldn’t, and she gave me her call. I called my friend that got me to the media that she had found who had just done case reports on two other people who had been in the detention centers. And he blasted my story and ICE called my lawyer the next day. So what it was, who knows, but the timing suggests that it was because of the news.

 

SREENIVASAN: Do you feel privileged?

 

MOONEY: I am 100%  privileged. I, that was something that really, really came to me when I was in there  And that is why I’ve been so vocal about this story, because this isn’t my story. This is thousands and thousands of women that are placed in these systems that do not have my privilege. And I tell everyone, I had resources. I had a Canadian passport, I had lawyers, I had politicians, I had media. And it still took me almost two weeks to get out of there. Can you even imagine what these other women are going through? 

 

SREENIVASAN: So we reached out to the CBP and  Jasmine, while the CBP has not responded, ICE said in part,  “Jasmine Mooney was detained March 3rd by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for not having legal documentation to be in the United States. Mooney was processed in accordance with the Securing Our Borders executive order dated January 21st. All aliens in violation of US immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and if found removable by final order, removed from the US regardless of nationality.” What’s your reaction to their statement?

 

MOONEY: Well, one thing I do know is for instance, when I was placed into prison, I told every single guard, I will pay for my flight. Please, someone, can I talk to my ICE officer? I even wrote in the tablet, I will pay for my flight. And when my story broke to the media, ICE contacted my lawyer for the first time as soon as it released. And they told them, oh, yep, Jasmine’s here. We weren’t aware that she would pay for her flight home. No problem. We’ll get her out tomorrow. So I don’t know what their statement means because I was in the immigration office applying legally. I’ve had so many lawyers from across the country look at my paperwork, they don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense. 

 

SREENIVASAN: You’ve said that some of these women gave you letters for you to mail when you got outside. Is that right?

 

MOONEY: Yeah. So what happened when we were placed in the second jail, they were like, we don’t know how long we’re gonna be in here, Jasmine, you are for sure getting out before any of us. Can you please contact our families? cause I was like, I’m going to be so vocal about this. And they were just like, use, use our stories as proof. 

You know, because listen, I’m sitting here telling you what we went through. I don’t have proof. I don’t have videos, I don’t have photos of the conditions. It’s my word. Right? And so and then a lot of people are extremely scared to talk about this. And when I got out of prison, I’ve had so many people DM me who were placed in the system, and I was like, would you be willing to come forward and, and talking? And they’re like, no. Like we, they suffer from so much PTSD, from trauma. They’re scared, you know, this is scary. People think, I don’t wanna talk about this because what if I get banned for life or I get in trouble, or they come after me. And so it’s a, it’s very difficult for a lot of people to talk about this.

 

SREENIVASAN:  Right now for you, you are officially banned from the United States for the next five years. What are you gonna do about it?

 

MOONEY:  There’s a couple different things that could happen. Either my ban gets rescinded, which I’m hoping that might happen, or I, I am going to be appealing it. But unfortunately those things just take time. So I mean, who knows what’s gonna happen in the next few years with everything. Right?

 

SREENIVASAN:  You’re not advocating for open borders, per se. Your critique is of the process in how people are being treated. Is that accurate?

 

MOONEY: 100%. So I wanna be very clear. I do not support being in any country illegally. You have to have the proper documentation. What I’m being an advocate for is, if you are going to be deported from America or wherever, you should not, there is no reason anyone should be placed into these systems and stuck in there for weeks to months. I’m talking months. Okay? And then on top of that, the conditions on which you are treated in these facilities. And then when I got out, I did a lot of research. And what I found is  this is a business. And I really, as things really started to make sense, I’m like, oh, so of course I’m a business woman. They’re cutting costs everywhere that they can when you are in these facilities. 

 They have no incentive to get people out because the more people that are placed into these systems, and the longer they stay, and the more transfers they do, the more money they make. 

On top of it, these are taxpayer dollars. So the American people are paying for this to happen because the, these corporations are getting grants from the US government. So when you really put all the pieces together, it starts to make sense. And that is what I’m advocating for. Why was I, a Canadian, who my friends ended up paying for my flight home and I spent 12 days in jail being treated like this scum of the earth, like a criminal. And they keep saying – like, to this day I still do not have a criminal record, but I had an inmate ID, mugshot, fingerprinted, in a jail uniform, in chains, for 12 days. So that should not be happening.

 

SREENIVASAN: Jasmine Mooney, thank you so much for your time.

 

MOONEY: Of course. Thank you so much for having me. I’m so grateful.