An actress from American Pie has shared the harrowing ordeal she faced after being detained by ICE while attempting to apply for a visa.
Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian actress and entrepreneur who starred in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love in 2009, recounted her troubling experience of being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite not being accused of any crime.
Mooney was detained at the U.S.-Mexico border while trying to secure a new visa. She was stopped on March 3 at the San Ysidro crossing between Mexico and San Diego. Mooney had traveled to the border after learning in November that her three-year TN work visa had been revoked while she was attempting to board a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles.
Following her lawyer’s advice, Mooney went to San Ysidro, where she had previously obtained her work visa, with her visa paperwork and a new job offer in hand, hoping to apply for a new visa.
Speaking to KGTV, Mooney explained that after entering the U.S. via Mexico, she was initially told by border agents to visit a U.S. Consulate to apply for legal status to work again. However, she was later denied re-entry into Mexico and detained.
From inside the San Luis Regional Detention Center in Arizona, Mooney described the situation: “Every guard who sees me says, ‘What are you doing here? I don’t understand — you’re Canadian. How are you here?’ I’ve never witnessed anything so inhumane.”
Mooney also criticized the conditions in which she was held, stating, “I was put in a cell, sleeping on a mat with no blanket or pillow, wrapped in aluminum foil like a dead body for two and a half days.”
Additionally, Mooney expressed dissatisfaction with the food she was given. However, a representative from the private company running the detention center, Brian Todd, defended the facility, claiming they provide “nutritious” meals to detainees.
Mooney also revealed that, along with 30 other women, she was transported in the middle of the night to Arizona. “We were awake for 24 hours, wrapped in chains,” she said.
Despite her ordeal, Mooney has not been charged with any offense and is expected to be released on March 14, after spending 11 days in detention.
Her father also commented on the situation, stating that he believes public pressure on authorities contributed to her release. Speaking to CBS, he said, “Jasmine’s a strong girl, but what she has gone through is something no one should have to endure.”