B.C. woman detained at U.S. border, sent to Arizona detention facility in chains | Vancouver Sun

[Scott75]

This is just crazy...

**

Family and friends of a Vancouver entrepreneur are demanding answers after she was unexpectedly detained by U.S. immigration officials while attempting to cross the border with a job offer and visa paperwork in hand.

Jasmine Mooney, a 35-year-old business consultant and co-founder of a drink brand, has been detained for 10 days under what her supporters describe as “inhumane conditions,” with no clear explanation of why U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested her.

 

“I haven’t been able to sleep thinking about what my daughter is being put through. We treat cattle better than this in Canada,” Mooney’s mother, Alexis Eagles, said on Thursday.

 

Eagles, who said she found out about Mooney’s detention through a family friend, noted that her daughter had been working in the U.S. but was detained at the San Ysidro U.S.-Mexico border crossing near San Diego, Calif., on March 3.

 

Eagles said an immigration lawyer was finally able to reach Mooney late Thursday, but despite having no criminal record and facing no charges, Mooney remains in custody with no clear timeline for release.

 

“We have no issue with her being denied entry, we have no issue with her initially being detained. But we have a huge issue with the inhumane treatment she is receiving and that she knows nothing, has not been charged and has not been able to speak with us directly,” her mother said.

“It’s been 11 days, just release her. It doesn’t make sense to spend taxpayer dollars to continue to detain her when she’s not a criminal.”

Eagles said the family has received an update from a third-party that Mooney may have a tentative release date of March 24, which — if true — remains “still too far away.”

[snip]

Since Donald Trump became U.S. president and began implementing stricter immigration policies in late January, Nietor said he has noticed an increase in cases of non-U.S. citizens being detained by immigration authorities.

“One or two months ago, if CBP officers found an issue with a Canadian’s work visa, the typical route taken is revoking the visa and ordering that person to leave the country,” said Nietor. “To detain someone like this would have been considered extreme not long ago, but’s it happening much more frequently nowadays.”

Nietor noted that while there is no limit on how long U.S. immigration authorities can detain a non-U.S. citizen, individuals have the legal right to talk to a lawyer while in detention.

Mooney’s associate, Chicago-based BJ McCaslin, said he hopes the detainment was the result of a mistake or misunderstanding, stressing that Mooney is not doing anything illegal. The pair had plans to meet at a health product expo in Anaheim, Calif.

“She’s definitely not criminal,” McCaslin said. “She’s coming to a health-food product exposition. She’s an upstanding person who is very well-respected in our industry.”

McCaslin has been in contact with Mooney through a messaging app designed for detainees, allowing them to communicate with people outside the facility. In her messages, Mooney described the whole process as “the most inhumane.”

In one message, she explained that about 30 women were crammed together on mats in a concrete cell, with inedible food and bright fluorescent lights “shining on you all day and night.” She added, “I am going to be a voice for the women in here because what is happening is not OK."

[snip]

What to know about Arizona’s San Luis Regional Detention Center

The San Luis Regional Detention Center where B.C.’s Jasmine Mooney is being held depends, like many for-profit private prisons, on the size of its detainee population. The more inmates, the better.

 

[snip]

 

Although the U.S. Department of Justice under Joe Biden banned federal contracts with for-profit prisons and detention centres, Trump reversed those policies on the second day of his presidency.

**

Full article:

https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-woman-detained-at-us-border-sent-to-arizona-detention-facility

[Barquentine]

She must have been flagged, maybe on some past minor infractions. I have a friend who's on a no-fly list to the states because he was busted for a single joint decades ago.

If that's the case I hope she gets out soon.

[SpankyMcFarland]

Basic message: avoid America. Don’t dream of going there unless you absolutely have to. 

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/german-tourists-detained-otay-mesa-detention-center/3770608/

 

[Scott75]

2 hours ago, Barquentine said:

She must have been flagged, maybe on some past minor infractions. I have a friend who's on a no-fly list to the states because he was busted for a single joint decades ago.

If that's the case I hope she gets out soon.

I suspect if she were really flagged, they would have charged her with something. I think the border guards were just overzealous. What I'd like to know is why. But what really gets me is if she was arrested in in what looks like the California border and then -transferred- to a for profit prison in Arizona. Some pretty high level corruption here going on, and in this case, the buck stops at Trump, who reversed Biden's policies on for profit prisons on the second day of his presidency.

Edited March 15 by Scott75

[herbie]

5 hours ago, Barquentine said:

She must have been flagged

Bullshit, she ran into one of those 'put on a uniform and turn into an arsehole' border guards.
She's home in Abbotsford now, as soon as the story went viral the US moved quickly to avoid further embarrassment. Embarrassed themselves far too much lately.

[BeaverFever]

This is not new it’s Trump’s America and happened more than once during his first term   Trump likes to turn the border service into Gestapo

 

Jogger who accidentally crossed U.S. border from B.C. detained for 2 weeks

 

A visitor from France says she was jogging along the beach south of White Rock, B.C., when she crossed the U.S. border without realizing it. So began a two-week nightmare that landed her in a prison jumpsuit.

Cedella Roman, 19, didn't know it at the time, but as she ran southeast along the beach on the evening of May 21, she crossed a municipal boundary — and, shortly after, an international border.
 

…

Roman was held in custody for two weeks before immigration officials on both sides of the border confirmed she was allowed back into Canada. Then she was transferred back into B.C.

"It was just unfair that there was nothing, no sign at the border," said Ferne, who visited her daughter several times while she was detained. "It's like a trap … anybody can be caught at the border like this."

 

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4717060

[Aristides]

Interesting

Quote

 

When detentions of illegal immigrants drops, as it did under Biden, private facilities like San Luis lose money. According to a report in High Country News, owners of these facilities lobby for more detentions and harsher immigration laws, which benefit their bottom line.

Article content

 

 

 

[Nationalist]

On 3/15/2025 at 10:46 AM, Barquentine said:

She must have been flagged, maybe on some past minor infractions. I have a friend who's on a no-fly list to the states because he was busted for a single joint decades ago.

If that's the case I hope she gets out soon.

The INS and FBI never forget. I have this same issue. But I pay a couple thousand, and get a "waiver". Had 6 of 'em so far.

[Aristides]

The US is now a country where you can be grabbed by ICE and shipped off to an El Salvador prison with zero due process. Regardless of how unlikely, why take the risk if you don't have to.

[Boges]

3 hours ago, Aristides said:

The US is now a country where you can be grabbed by ICE and shipped off to an El Salvador prison with zero due process. Regardless of how unlikely, why take the risk if you don't have to.

This. 

I'm not sure why anyone would consider the US for their tourism dollars. 

I saw on Twitter that California has started a campaign to get Canadian tourism dollars. That's fine and good, but ICE can still get you in California. 

No one in the free world should support the US tourism industry. 

[CrakHoBarbie]

On 3/15/2025 at 12:56 AM, Scott75 said:

This is just crazy...

**

Family and friends of a Vancouver entrepreneur are demanding answers after she was unexpectedly detained by U.S. immigration officials while attempting to cross the border with a job offer and visa paperwork in hand.

Jasmine Mooney, a 35-year-old business consultant and co-founder of a drink brand, has been detained for 10 days under what her supporters describe as “inhumane conditions,” with no clear explanation of why U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested her.

 

“I haven’t been able to sleep thinking about what my daughter is being put through. We treat cattle better than this in Canada,” Mooney’s mother, Alexis Eagles, said on Thursday.

 

Eagles, who said she found out about Mooney’s detention through a family friend, noted that her daughter had been working in the U.S. but was detained at the San Ysidro U.S.-Mexico border crossing near San Diego, Calif., on March 3.

 

Eagles said an immigration lawyer was finally able to reach Mooney late Thursday, but despite having no criminal record and facing no charges, Mooney remains in custody with no clear timeline for release.

 

“We have no issue with her being denied entry, we have no issue with her initially being detained. But we have a huge issue with the inhumane treatment she is receiving and that she knows nothing, has not been charged and has not been able to speak with us directly,” her mother said.

“It’s been 11 days, just release her. It doesn’t make sense to spend taxpayer dollars to continue to detain her when she’s not a criminal.”

Eagles said the family has received an update from a third-party that Mooney may have a tentative release date of March 24, which — if true — remains “still too far away.”

[snip]

Since Donald Trump became U.S. president and began implementing stricter immigration policies in late January, Nietor said he has noticed an increase in cases of non-U.S. citizens being detained by immigration authorities.

“One or two months ago, if CBP officers found an issue with a Canadian’s work visa, the typical route taken is revoking the visa and ordering that person to leave the country,” said Nietor. “To detain someone like this would have been considered extreme not long ago, but’s it happening much more frequently nowadays.”

Nietor noted that while there is no limit on how long U.S. immigration authorities can detain a non-U.S. citizen, individuals have the legal right to talk to a lawyer while in detention.

Mooney’s associate, Chicago-based BJ McCaslin, said he hopes the detainment was the result of a mistake or misunderstanding, stressing that Mooney is not doing anything illegal. The pair had plans to meet at a health product expo in Anaheim, Calif.

“She’s definitely not criminal,” McCaslin said. “She’s coming to a health-food product exposition. She’s an upstanding person who is very well-respected in our industry.”

McCaslin has been in contact with Mooney through a messaging app designed for detainees, allowing them to communicate with people outside the facility. In her messages, Mooney described the whole process as “the most inhumane.”

In one message, she explained that about 30 women were crammed together on mats in a concrete cell, with inedible food and bright fluorescent lights “shining on you all day and night.” She added, “I am going to be a voice for the women in here because what is happening is not OK."

[snip]

What to know about Arizona’s San Luis Regional Detention Center

The San Luis Regional Detention Center where B.C.’s Jasmine Mooney is being held depends, like many for-profit private prisons, on the size of its detainee population. The more inmates, the better.

 

[snip]

 

Although the U.S. Department of Justice under Joe Biden banned federal contracts with for-profit prisons and detention centres, Trump reversed those policies on the second day of his presidency.

**

Full article:

https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-woman-detained-at-us-border-sent-to-arizona-detention-facility

It's all part of the trump playbook. 

Maga is a cult. It's members are willing to perform extreme actions for their cult leader. They specialize in inhumane activities.  Everything from cutting off humanitarian aid to the World's poorest marginalized groups,  to disappearing people without due process.

To Magas, donald is their king and demigod.  He sees their innermost fears and desires,  and acts upon them. Thus, they believe donald should be allowed to operate free from the confines set forth in the Constitution. And free from the oversight of Congress and the Judicial branch.

As donalds power grows, freedom and justice are marginalized.

His administration is the biggest threat to "justice for all" since the Civil War. 

So, until this Constitutional crises is quelled, expect more of the same type of inhumane activities and more.

This is where America is at.

[Scott75]

10 hours ago, CrakHoBarbie said:

It's all part of the trump playbook. 

Maga is a cult. It's members are willing to perform extreme actions for their cult leader. They specialize in inhumane activities.  Everything from cutting off humanitarian aid to the World's poorest marginalized groups,  to disappearing people without due process.

To Magas, donald is their king and demigod.  He sees their innermost fears and desires,  and acts upon them. Thus, they believe donald should be allowed to operate free from the confines set forth in the Constitution. And free from the oversight of Congress and the Judicial branch.

As donalds power grows, freedom and justice are marginalized.

His administration is the biggest threat to "justice for all" since the Civil War. 

So, until this Constitutional crises is quelled, expect more of the same type of inhumane activities and more.

This is where America is at.

I certainly believe that Trump is pretty bad. Still not sure he's worse than Kamala would have been though. At least he's still set on avoiding an escalation with Russia. Recently, Rubio said that the U.S. was ready to move on from the war in Ukraine if a peace deal wasn't worked out soon, but it looks like Trump has since been more ambiguous as to whether that might happen:

https://apnews.com/article/rubio-ukraine-russia-war-trump-a90e3e49c276b75ed2542f2f0422ddd6

[CrakHoBarbie]

4 hours ago, Scott75 said:

I certainly believe that Trump is pretty bad. Still not sure he's worse than Kamala would have been though. At least he's still set on avoiding an escalation with Russia.

Escalation to what?

Mutually assured destruction?

Donald has only emboldened putin.

While, at the same time,  starting an unprovoked trade war with our best allies and trading partners. Foreign held U.S. bonds are being sold off at a rapid rate, and the dollar has fallen 9% against a basket of other currencies since January.

Donald is quickening the loss of dollar hegemony. A benefit the U.S. has enjoyed for decades, but donalds pissing it all away.

So, I certainly cannot agree that the global clusterf__k of donalds design is better than Kamala.

[Scott75]

4 hours ago, CrakHoBarbie said:

9 hours ago, Scott75 said:

I certainly believe that Trump is pretty bad. Still not sure he's worse than Kamala would have been though. At least he's still set on avoiding an escalation with Russia.

Escalation to what?

Mutually assured destruction?

Yep, I think that Biden was dangerously close to that and I suspect that Kamala may have continued along those lines. Trump, on the other hand, seems to be backing away from such a possibility.

4 hours ago, CrakHoBarbie said:

Donald has only emboldened putin.

I don't see it that way. I see the conflict of Ukraine the same way most Americans saw the Cuban Missile Crisis. Did you know that of the 9 times the U.S. and the USSR almost started a nuclear war, 4 of those times were during the Cuban Missile Crisis? There's an article about it here:

https://www.businessinsider.com/when-nuclear-war-almost-happened-2018-4?op=1

From what I've heard, it looks like there's already been once such incidence during the Ukraine war:

https://consortiumnews.com/2024/09/19/scott-ritter-72-hours/

There should be no more and it looks like Trump is taking steps to ensure this.

4 hours ago, CrakHoBarbie said:

While, at the same time,  starting an unprovoked trade war with our best allies and trading partners. Foreign held U.S. bonds are being sold off at a rapid rate, and the dollar has fallen 9% against a basket of other currencies since January.

Donald is quickening the loss of dollar hegemony. A benefit the U.S. has enjoyed for decades, but donalds pissing it all away.

Yeah, Trump's done a real doozy there, I agree.

4 hours ago, CrakHoBarbie said:

So, I certainly cannot agree that the global clusterf__k of donalds design is better than Kamala.

You may well be right. It probably depends on whether Kamala would have started a nuclear war with Russia.

 

[herbie]

Would've been simple enough for them to say at the border "Sorry your documents are f*cked up, you're refused entry to the USA. Turn around and go back.", but they just had to make a political show of intent no matter how deplorable it made them look.

Which seemed to work well with some of the fascist arseholes on this forum.

[Aristides]

[herbie]

So just read the news about two teenage girl hikers from Germany who were arrested in Hawaii, jailed and deported to Japan of all places.

They were arrested for not having pre-booked hotel rooms and being accused of seeking to work and say ICE wrote false documents to prove their case.
I will presume that like Canadians, the USA no longer needs tourists as all the hospitality workers will be busy making socks, Teddy bears, stripping and winding wires in Donald's imaginary new manufacturing plants.

When you think they couldn't go any lower, Magatts reply hold my beer...