Just remember, you’re only one incomplete form away from weeks in a detention cell. On Mar. 3 Canadian American Pie veteran and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney was detained at the U.S. Border in San Diego and informed that her application for a work visa was “incomplete”. In ordinary circumstances Mooney would either be given notice to complete her application correctly or, in the worst-case scenario, denied entry to the United States.
But we don’t live in “ordinary circumstances” anymore, so Mooney was dragged from her car, cuffed, and taken to a detention facility. There she spent three nights before being transferred in chains to the Arizona’s San Luis detention center, where she spent almost two weeks in hell.
Mooney detailed her internment to her mother, Alexis Eagles, who relayed her story to the Vancouver Sun newspaper. Her daughter – who had no criminal record and hadn’t been charged with any crime – was housed with around thirty people “in a single concrete cell with no natural light, fluorescent lights that are never turned off, no mats, no blankets, and limited bathroom facilities.”
Mooney herself gave an interview to ABC 10 describing the conditions she encountered in the San Luis private detention facility as akin to torture: “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 went on to explain: “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 was released over the weekend and flew back to Vancouver airport, to be met with a crowd of reporters eager to learn more about her detainment. At the time she said “I’m still, to be honest, really processing everything, I haven’t slept in a while and haven’t eaten proper food in a while, so I’m just really going through the motions.” Later, after a rest, she summarized her experience in an Instagram story, saying:
“Thank you for all your messages of support. I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to respond to everyone – just got home after what felt like escaping a deeply disturbing psychological experiment. … While I was in prison, I began writing an essay about my experience, which I will be sharing soon. I refuse to let what happened break me; instead, I’m choosing to use my voice in the hope that it can help others.”
There are an increasing number of terrifying stories like this emerging over the last few weeks, including a British backpacker tourist Rebecca Burke being held for three weeks while attempting to enter the U.S. from Canada and being told her visa was incorrect.
Stories like these have already had a chilling effect on U.S. tourism as, understandably, people don’t want to risk visiting the United States if they’re in danger of being tossed into a nightmare detention center on a flimsy pretext.
Right now you might be scoffing that this could ever happen to you, but since the inauguration, U.S. Immigration, ICE, and Homeland Security have been let off the leash to detain whoever they like regardless of any crimes committed or constitutional protections. So, if you’re around U.S. officials say as little as possible and demand a lawyer.
Published: Mar 18, 2025 08:22 am