A Canadian woman who had appeared in an “American Pie” movie was detained for several days by U.S. immigration officials while attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the U.S. to renew her work visa, according to her mother. The woman’s father expects his daughter to be able to return to Canada as early as Friday.
Jasmine Mooney, a 35-year-old business consultant who appeared in several TV and movie roles including 2009’s “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love,” was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 3, her mother Alexis Eagles said Wednesday on Facebook. Mooney attempted to cross the border with her visa paperwork and a job offer from a company in the U.S.
Mooney was crossing the border to apply for a temporary visa known as a TN visa, which she had previously obtained successfully, according to Canadian broadcaster Global News. The TN visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows Canadian and Mexican citizens to work in the U.S. in certain professional jobs under the terms of the North American free trade pact known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Her visa was denied, and she was held at the San Ysidro border crossing in Southern California for three nights, according to Eagles. She was then transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and held for another three nights.
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On Sunday, an online detainee locator system showed that Mooney had been released, according to Eagles, but 24 hours later, there was still no sign or communication from her, leaving her family and friends in a state of uncertainty and worry.
“We eventually learned that about 30 people, including Jasmine, were forcibly removed from their cells at 3:00 am and transferred to San Luis Detention Center in Arizona,” Eagles said on Facebook. “They are housed together in a single concrete cell with no natural light, fluorescent lights that are never turned off, no mats, no blankets, and limited bathroom facilities.”
Mooney’s friend Brittany Kors told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency suddenly informed Mooney of her visa denial and she was detained as she was in the process of booking a flight back to Canada.
“Without any warning about what was about to transpire, I was literally just taken,” Mooney told CTV News in a phone interview from the Arizona detention facility. “I feel like I’ve been kidnapped.”
ICE told San Diego station KGTV on Thursday that Mooney was detained for not having legal documentation to be in the country. “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,” an ICE spokeswoman told the station.
Mooney’s father, Stephen Mooney, said in an interview with CBC Radio that he expected his daughter will be brought to a detention center in Tijuana, Mexico, and released. He’s expecting her to fly back to Vancouver, British Columbia, on Friday evening.
Susan Mooney
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Eagles said she purchased a plane ticket for her daughter and was waiting for ICE to approve it. She also said she was cautiously optimistic that Mooney will be home in the next couple of days.
Mooney’s mother said she was very concerned about her daughter’s living conditions in detention. She called ICE’s treatment of her daughter “inhumane and deeply concerning.”
“Being detained is one thing, but there’s NO excuse for the way people are treated while in custody or for the delays in deportation,” she said. “They are not criminals, and they just want to go home.”
Dina Destin, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, told CBS News in a statement that they are aware of a Canadian’s detention in the U.S. and that consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather information and provide consulate assistance.
“Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on behalf of Canadian citizens with regard to the entry and exit requirements of another country,” Destin said in the statement.
