Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney’s viral smile took a darker turn after the 35-year-old was detained by U.S. immigration officials at the Mexican border in March. Attempting to renew her work visa at the Mexico-San Diego border on March 3, against legal advice, Mooney was denied entry and unexpectedly detained.
Mooney spent 11 days in ICE custody, often in cold cement cells with only a foil emergency blanket, facing multiple transfers, invasive medical checks, and degrading conditions. Despite asking to fund her own return to Canada, she remained trapped without answers. Initially refusing food and unable to sleep, she eventually rallied to assist fellow detainees.
“It breaks you. That place breaks you into a million pieces. It is so disgusting what goes on in there,” Mooney told CBC News.
Her ordeal, now a cautionary tale, has sparked alarm among immigration experts. Canadian immigration lawyer Ken Saunders, based in Blaine, Wash., said her case has had a “huge chilling effect” on Canadians considering travel to the U.S., noting he warned her against applying at a Mexican port of entry due to changing immigration enforcement.
Mooney, after her release, emphasized the plight of others left behind in detention, including women held for months without warning. At the Otay Mesa Detention Center, where Mooney was held, many detainees had overstayed visas or sought asylum, only to end up incarcerated.
Her case is among a series of troubling incidents, from German tattoo artist Jessica Brösche held for over a month, to a British backpacker detained for 10 days, to a couple separated and held after crossing from Tijuana. The U.S. appears to be taking a tougher stance on all non-citizens, regardless of origin.
Mooney’s troubles began in 2023 when her work visa application was denied over missing employer letterhead. A successful reapplication in San Diego let her work in California until a November border reentry revealed an issue with her product containing hemp, leading to her visa being revoked.
In March 2024, she returned to the same immigration office to reapply and was told she’d need to go through a consulate, not that she was in trouble. But moments later, she was detained — her shoelaces taken away, a measure to prevent suicide in custody.
According to ICE spokesperson Sandra Grisolia, Mooney’s detainment complied with a January 2021 executive order, enabling detention of all individuals in violation of immigration law.
Mooney, who previously worked in Vancouver’s hospitality scene, still hopes to appeal her visa denial and return to her marketing career in the U.S.
Source: Swifteradio.com
