Known for her part in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, Jasmine Mooney has spoken out following 12 days of detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to her mother, Alexis Eagles, the Canadian actress was arrested on March 3 while trying to cross the San Ysidro border between Mexico and San Diego in order to renew her Trade NAFTA (TN) work visa.
Reportedly carrying an incomplete application for a new TN visa, which lets Canadian professionals operate in the United States, Mooney was She spent three nights at the border before being moved to Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. She was sent to the San Luis Detention Center in Arizona after another three days, but internet records indicating she had been released.
Speaking with CTV News at Vancouver International Airport following her return home, Mooney said her experience was “inhumane” and said she was provided little to no knowledge regarding the reason she was being kept. ” Nobody informed me anything.” Not once, she remarked. “I still not even know how I get home.”
Mooney told ABC’s 10 News San Diego that she was forced to sleep on a mat without a blanket or cushion, wrapped just in an aluminum foil sheet for warmth, throughout her imprisonment. She also said that she avoided eating because of the so bad quality of the food, which caused notable weight loss.
Reflecting on her trauma, Mooney posted on Instagram thanking everyone who supported her after her release. She promised to publish an article on her experience and started writing on a now-expired Instagram Story. “I’m choosing to use my voice in hope that it will help others; I refuse to let what happened break me.”
Her story has also spurred debates about immigration rules and how U.S. immigration authorities treat detainees.
