This Canadian American Pie star revealed that she was detained at the border by ICE after attempting to enter the US on a revoked visa. 35-year-old Jasmine Mooney tried crossing the border from Mexico on March 3 but claims that they held her in "inhumane" conditions.
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The Canadian actress reported to 10News that she was disgusted by the conditions of the detention facility. Instead of making it into San Diego at the San Ysidro border, the guards stopped to question her on why she was there.
"Every single guard that sees me is like, 'What are you doing here? I don't understand - you're Canadian. How are you here?'" Mooney explained to the outlet from the Arizona immigration detention center. Since ICE had shackled her, she has been trying her best to get out.
Entrepreneur And Actress Detained At US Border Due To Revoked Visa
"I have never in my life seen anything so inhumane," she told Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish. They have been holding her initially in a for-profit detention facility in San Luis that has treated her like a criminal.
Mooney appeared in a scene in American Pie Presents: The Book Of Love in 2009. Since then, she has become an entrepreneur. She had recently been working in Los Angeles through a TN visa for a beverage company. They have since revoked it, but she tried crossing the border with updated visa paperwork and a new job offer.
The co-founder of the Holy! Water brand told the outlet that she received her first visa at the same San Ysidro border crossing. Then, upon visiting her home in Canada, a US border officer at the Vancouver airport revoked it.
Mooney explained the reason behind the officer revoking it. "They told me I was unprofessional because I didn't have a proper letterhead on my paperwork," she said.
A border officer then told Mooney to visit a US consulate to apply for legal status to start working in the country again. But when she attempted to retreat to Mexico after failing to cross the border, they detained her instead.
Although the agency claimed to treat all travelers with "integrity, respect, and professionalism," Mooney disagrees. "I was put in a cell, and I had to sleep on a mat with no blanket, no pillow," she detailed. The entrepreneur only had aluminum foil to wrap around her body "like a dead body" for two and a half days.
Mooney also spoke about how terrible the food was. On top of that, officers rounded up her and 30 other women to transfer them to the Arizona facility. "We were up for 24 hours wrapped in chains," she recalled.
The Reason Behind Mooney's Detention
So far, Mooney has no clue when they plan to release her. According to the outlet, there may be a specific reason for detaining Mooney, and it has to do with her brand.
One of the drinks Holy! Water advertised on its site contained Delta-9 "full spectrum hemp." Since 2018, the law has legalized hemp, but only if the product contains less than 0.3% THC. Since the drink may have contained more than the allowed amount, it could be considered a controlled substance.
Brittany Kors, Mooney's best friend, has been trying everything to get the Canadian government to do something. "I just feel like there has to be more that they can do this," Kors told 10News. "This can't be right. It can't be allowed to happen."
Kors was the one to contact the outlet about this story to help free Mooney. "This just seems like it's such a waste of taxpayer dollars," Kors commented.
