The mother of a B.C. woman who was detained for nearly two weeks by immigration officials in the United States says her daughter is back on home soil.
Alexis Eagles confirmed Saturday that her daughter, Jasmine Mooney, landed at the Vancouver International Airport at around midnight and returned to her home in the city.
Eagles said she was at the airport to greet her 35-year-old daughter, along with friends of Mooney’s.
B.C. woman detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be deported back to Canada
Duration 1:12
A B.C. woman who has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is expected to be deported back to Canada Friday. Jasmine Mooney’s father says the family “pulled political strings” to hasten her release after more than a week of detention. Rafferty Baker has more.
Speaking to CBC News earlier Thursday, Eagles said her daughter — who grew up in Yukon and had been living in B.C. until last year — had been in the custody of U.S. immigration officials since March 3 when her visa was denied as she tried to enter California from Mexico.
She said Mooney, a businesswoman and former actress, was placed in “inhumane” conditions in a cell holding 30 people with limited bathroom facilities.
In a statement to CBC News on Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Mooney was detained for “not having legal documentation” to be in the states.
Mooney was processed in accordance with President Donald Trump’s executive order that subjected “all aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law” to possible arrest, the enforcement agency said.
On Thursday, B.C. Premier David Eby said he had urged the Canadian government to do all it could through diplomatic channels to ensure her return.
Eby said while he didn’t know the details of the case, it was reinforcing Canadians’ anxiety about their southern neighbours stemming from the current rancour in U.S.-Canada relations.
Airplay9:18Detained woman’s mother watches and waits
Alexis Eagles, the mother of Jasmine Mooney, explains how she’s managed to keep sane while her daughter has been held in detention in the U.S.
“The nature of our relationship is so fraught right now that this case makes us all wonder, what about our relatives who are working in the States?” Eby said.
Eagles said she had already determined she “would not be travelling to the States for the foreseeable future” in response the Trump administration’s actions, but her daughter’s ordeal had “solidified” her mindset.
