Vancouver Woman Detained by US Immigration for Nearly 2 Weeks Returns Home

Jasmine Mooney (R) poses for a selfie with her mom, Alexis Eagles, in an undated handout image. The Canadian Press/HO-Alexis Eagles

After being detailed for nearly two weeks by U.S. immigration officers, a Canadian woman is now back home in Vancouver, her mother confirmed.

Jasmine Mooney, 35, landed at Vancouver International Airport at around midnight Saturday and returned to her home in the city, said her mother, Alexis Eagles, who added that she and friends of Mooney greeted her daughter at the airport.

Mooney, a business woman and former movie actress, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 3, Eagles said in a March 12 Facebook post. Her daughter was detained after her visa was rejected when she tried to enter California from Mexico, she said.

After being held at the San Ysidro border crossing for three nights, Eagles’s post continued, her daughter was transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego and held for another three nights. From there, Mooney was sent to the San Luis Detention Center in Arizona, where she was subjected to “inhumane and deeply concerning” conditions in a holding cell with about 30 people in total.

“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,” Eagles said in the post.

Mooney is not a criminal and there’s no excuse for the way she was treated in custody and for the delay in her deportation back to Canada, Mooney’s mother added.

Eagles said Mooney was detained by ICE because of “an issue with her consulting visa for a company in the States, it was denied.”

ICE had stated in a statement last week that Mooney was detained because she did not have legal documentation to be in the country.

The agency said Mooney’s detention was processed in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order that subjected “all aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law” to possible arrest.

Trump had signed a presidential action on Jan. 20 titled “Protecting the American People From Invasion” stating that it is U.S. policy “to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people.” Further, it’s U.S. policy “to achieve the total and efficient enforcement of those laws, including through lawful incentives and detention capabilities,” the order added.

To ensure Mooney’s return, B.C. Premier David Eby on March 13 urged the federal government to assist her through diplomatic channels.

Eby also said that, while he didn’t know the details of Mooney’s case, her detention was serving only to aggravate the already strained relations between the two nations.

“The nature of our relationship is so fraught right now that this case makes us all wonder, what about our relatives who are working in the States?” Eby said.

Eagles said she had already made up her mind earlier that she “would not be travelling to the States for the foreseeable future,” but now her daughter’s ordeal has “solidified” that decision.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.