<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney>
"There was no explanation, no warning. One minute, I was in an immigration
office talking to an officer about my work visa, which had been approved months
before and allowed me, a Canadian, to work in the US. The next, I was told to
put my hands against the wall, and patted down like a criminal before being
sent to an Ice detention center without the chance to talk to a lawyer.
I grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon, a small town in the northernmost part of
Canada. I always knew I wanted to do something bigger with my life. I left home
early and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where I built a career spanning
multiple industries – acting in film and television, owning bars and
restaurants, flipping condos and managing Airbnbs.
In my 30s, I found my true passion working in the health and wellness industry.
I was given the opportunity to help launch an American brand of health tonics
called Holy! Water – a job that would involve moving to the US.
I was granted my trade Nafta work visa, which allows Canadian and Mexican
citizens to work in the US in specific professional occupations, on my second
attempt. It goes without saying, then, that I have no criminal record. I also
love the US and consider myself to be a kind, hard-working person.
I started working in California and travelled back and forth between Canada and
the US multiple times without any complications – until one day, upon returning
to the US, a border officer questioned me about my initial visa denial and
subsequent visa approval. He asked why I had gone to the San Diego border the
second time to apply. I explained that that was where my lawyer’s offices were,
and that he had wanted to accompany me to ensure there were no issues.
After a long interrogation, the officer told me it seemed “shady” and that my
visa hadn’t been properly processed. He claimed I also couldn’t work for a
company in the US that made use of hemp – one of the beverage ingredients. He
revoked my visa, and told me I could still work for the company from Canada,
but if I wanted to return to the US, I would need to reapply.
I was devastated; I had just started building a life in California. I stayed in
Canada for the next few months, and was eventually offered a similar position
with a different health and wellness brand.
I restarted the visa process and returned to the same immigration office at the
San Diego border, since they had processed my visa before and I was familiar
with it. Hours passed, with many confused opinions about my case. The officer I
spoke to was kind but told me that, due to my previous issues, I needed to
apply for my visa through the consulate. I told her I hadn’t been aware I
needed to apply that way, but had no problem doing it.
Then she said something strange: “You didn’t do anything wrong. You are not in
trouble, you are not a criminal.”
I remember thinking:
Why would she say that? Of course I’m not a criminal!"
Via Joyce Donahue.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
