The Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney who gained fame from American Pie Presents: The Book of Love experienced an unexpected dangerous ordeal during the beginning of this month.
Her ordinary visa application rapidly became a living imprisonment of twelve days through which she experienced cruel prison conditions.
The actress learned last November that her TN work visa status had ended while she performed in Los Angeles at age 35.
When she heard about the visa cancellation she received professional guidance to look for a new visa by visiting a U.S. border checkpoint.
She went to the San Ysidro border between Mexico and San Diego on March 3 while holding essential documentation and a new job position.
What followed was a series of events that she ‘never in a million years’ expected.
After the immigration officials denied her entry Mooney found herself taken into ICE detention instead of allowing her to return home.
During her detention the actress moved from one detention facility to another in a series of confusing circumstances that caused her great distress.
The environment she experienced was extremely harsh according to her testimony since she had no bed linen and no pillow and had to rest on an aluminum-wrapped foam mattress.
At the facility detainees remained in continuous light while officers handcuffed and shackled her multiple times.
Officers at the detention center lacked understanding of her presence since she was a Canadian while expressing their confusion about a citizen being treated in this manner.
The whole experience lasted 12 days before she learned the reason for her imprisonment.
The parents of Ashley Birdsill-Mooney (Stephen Mooney and Alexis Eagles) expressed the mental distress she endured while authorities maintained poor communication.
During his time in detention Stephen Mooney observed how personnel kept their daughter in handcuffs and moved her among various detention sites without revealing any reason.
Alexis Eagles explained to the media that her daughter endured severe cell conditions with frigid temperatures and perpetual illumination which prevented any possibility of rest.
Mooney admitted her mental struggles before she learned about the even tougher experiences of other detainees who revealed her situation as relatively easy.
“Every single person in there is in a way worse situation than me,” she admitted, recognizing the hardships faced by others in detention.
Mooney chose not to blame specifically why she spent time under detention.
She stated she refused to blame any particular factor for her situation. “I really don’t know. People can create their guesses about the situation but no one can verify these speculations.
The ICE detention of Mooney ended abruptly when they let her go before sending her back to her home in Vancouver.
She returned home at midnight on March 15 while trying to understand the events that occurred.
She continues trying to process everything she has experienced because she remains honest with herself. Due to not sleeping in a long time as well as not eating nutritious food I find myself merely existing without any genuine purpose.
Mooney now serves as an immigration warning to Canadian citizens by delivering important advice about border visas along with the suspected outcomes that face immigrants caught in detention.
Credit: (Jasmine Mooney/Linkedin)
The way ICE handles detainees and the unclear nature of their operating procedures became a topic of public dialogue because of her case.
Through her recovery process Mooney aims to highlight difficulties that many voiceless individuals encounter.
Her experience has taught her new perspectives which inspired her to become a voice for immigrants to fight for fair treatment and immigration process equality.
Through her personal narrative Mooney warns society about the basic human costs that U.S. immigration enforcement imposes.
Mooney survived her imprisonment although numerous other detainees stay incarcerated under similar or worse living situations without anyone watching their plight.
Presently Mooney concentrates on revitalizing her existence while utilizing her knowledge to expose system errors.
Feature Image Credit: (Instagram/jasminemooney) (EPA) (Jasmine Mooney/Linkedin) and (CTV News) and (Youtube/ABC 10 News)