The actress described her shocking experience after being detained by ICE while attempting to secure a new visa
Jasmine Mooney, an actress and entrepreneur known for her role in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, has opened up about her distressing experience of being detained by ICE while trying to secure a new visa.
Despite not being accused of any crime, Mooney was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the southern border.
The Canadian actress was attempting to obtain a new visa when she found herself detained at the San Ysidro border crossing between Mexico and San Diego on March 3.
Mooney had previously learned in November that her three-year TN work visa had been revoked while trying to board a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles.
Following legal advice, she traveled to San Ysidro, where she had initially obtained her first work visa, bringing a new job offer and all necessary paperwork in hopes of getting a new visa.
She explained to KGTV that after entering Mexico, border agents initially directed her to visit a US Consulate to apply for legal status. However, when she attempted to return, she was denied re-entry to Mexico and subsequently detained by US authorities.
Jasmine Mooney said she has never seen anything so 'inhumane' Instagram/jasminemooney
Speaking from inside the San Luis Regional Detention Center in Arizona, Mooney described her experience: "Every single guard that sees me is like 'What are you doing here? I don't understand — you're Canadian. How are you here?'"
She went on to say: "I have never in my life seen anything so inhumane."
According to Mooney, the conditions inside the detention facility were far from humane, adding that she was left with little to no basic comforts during her stay.
Detailing her treatment, she said: "I was put in a cell, and I had to sleep on a mat with no blanket, no pillow, with an aluminum foil wrapped over my body like a dead body for two and a half days."
She also criticized the quality of food she had been given while in detention. However, a spokesperson for the private company that runs the facility disputed her claims.
Brian Todd, a representative for the company, stated that detainees receive 'nutritious' meals daily.
Jasmine's father said the political pressure has helped ensure his daughter's release David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
Mooney also described how she and 30 other women were transported overnight to Arizona.
She recalled: "We were up for 24 hours wrapped in chains."
Despite being detained for 11 days, Mooney has not been charged with any crime.
Her father also spoke out, believing that the public attention and pressure on authorities contributed to her pending release.
He told CBS: "Jasmine's a strong girl, but what she has gone through is … no one should do that."
