(Image Credit: IMAGN) Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall stands looking out from the doors where Alex Friedmann was caught at the Downtown Detention Center in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024.
San Luis, Arizona – A Canadian entrepreneur, Jasmine Mooney, is speaking out about her detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after attempting to enter the United States at the San Diego border last Monday to obtain a visa.
Mooney, co-founder of the Holy! Water beverage brand, is currently detained at a private, for-profit immigration detention center in San Luis, Arizona. She alleges harsh conditions and confusion surrounding her arrest.
According to Mooney, her initial U.S. visa was revoked by a border officer at the Vancouver airport in Canada during a recent visit home. “They told me I was unprofessional because I didn’t have a proper letterhead on my paperwork,” she said.
Mooney claims she was then instructed to apply for a new visa at a U.S. consulate but was subsequently detained when she attempted to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico. She said a border officer refused her reentry to Mexico, and then ordered her detainment.
One potential issue contributing to her visa revocation may stem from Holy! Water’s online advertising of a drink containing Delta-9 “full spectrum hemp.” While the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp with up to 0.3% THC, higher concentrations remain federally controlled substances.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) declined to comment on the specific reasons for Mooney’s detention, citing privacy restrictions, but stated they routinely deny entry on 60 different grounds and treat all travelers with integrity.
Mooney disputes this, describing being held in a cold room at the border by CBP before being transferred to ICE custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. She alleges she was forced to sleep on a mat without a blanket or pillow, covered in aluminum foil, for two and a half days. She also described poor food quality and a midnight transfer to the Arizona facility, during which she and 30 other women were “wrapped in chains” for 24 hours.
CoreCivic, the private company operating the Otay Mesa facility, maintains it provides three “nutritious” meals daily.
Mooney’s friend, Brittany Kors, is advocating for her release and pressuring the Canadian government to intervene. “I just feel like there has to be more that they can do this. This can’t be right. It can’t be allowed to happen,” Kors said. She also expressed shock at learning Mooney was detained in a for-profit facility.
San Diego immigration attorney Andrew Neitor noted an anecdotal increase in non-U.S. citizen detentions, suggesting that many of these detentions are unnecessary.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment.
The Canadian government confirmed it is aware of Mooney’s detention and is gathering information. “Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on behalf of Canadian citizens with regard to the entry and exit requirements of another country,” said Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Brittany Fletcher.
