American pie actress Jasmine Mooney detained by ICE in ‘inhumane’ conditions while trying to…

Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney recounts her traumatic detention by ICE at the U.S. border, describing inhumane conditions and being shackled for days.

A Canadian entrepreneur and actress, best known for her role in the American Pie franchise, has reportedly revealed a harrowing experience at the U.S. southern border. According to reports, she was detained and shackled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while attempting to secure a new visa.

Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian actress, shares her distressing experience after being detained by ICE at the border. (@jasminemooney/Instagram)

American Pie actress detained by ICE at southern borders

Jasmine Moore shared that after being detained By ICE on March 3, 2025, at the San Ysidro border between Mexico and San Diego was kept in “inhumane” conditions, as reported by KGTV. She told the media outlet inside the Arizona detention centre, " 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 continued, “I have never in my life seen anything so inhumane.”

Mooney made the trip to the San Ysidro border crossing earlier this month after learning in November that her three-year TN work visa had been revoked while she was attempting to board a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles. The actress, known for her role in American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009), hoped to resolve the issue by presenting a new job offer and her visa paperwork, following the advice of her lawyer, who had previously helped her secure her first work visa, as reported by New York Post.

Mooney describes the ‘inhumane’ conditions

Mooney recounted being held in a freezing room for three days at the world's busiest land border before being arrested by ICE and transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. She told the outlet, ‘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.”

However, Brian Todd, a spokesperson for the private company operating the Otay Mesa Detention Center, rejected Mooney’s allegations regarding the food, asserting that the facility serves "nutritious" meals to inmates on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old stated that she, along with 30 other women, was abruptly gathered in the dead of night and transported to Arizona. She added, “We were up for 24 hours wrapped in chains.”

Mooney who was not charged with a crime is expected to be released by Friday after being kept behind bars for 11 days, as told by her father, Stephen to CBC on Thursday night. According to the outlet, she will be transported to a detention centre located in Tijuana, Mexico and then flown back to Vancouver on Friday. Mooney’s father told the outlet, “Jasmine’s a strong girl, but what she has gone through is … no one should do that,” adding that he feels “a lot of relief” after the knowledge that his daughter was “in shackles and handcuffs” for most of the time she was detained.

He continued, “Just the lack of due process and the lack of communication that we’ve had through that detention centre, I feel for, of course, not only Jasmine, but the many other people that are in there. There were conversations at the highest level, and I would like to think that helped get her released earlier.”

Mooney’s parents warn other Canadians

After the occurrence of events with her daughter, Stephem warned other Canadians who have similar work visa situations to avoid travelling to the US. He told CBC, “That process down there is terrible, and I believe it’s worse because of the new administration, because of Trump … I would be cautious for anyone to go into the States.”

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

ICE officials informed The Post on Thursday that Mooney’s detention was carried out in accordance with an executive order signed by President Trump on his first day back in the White House, which grants immigration authorities the power to detain individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. The statement said, “Jasmine Mooney was detained March 3 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for not having legal documentation to be in the United States.”