Fact Check: ICE detained Canadian 'American Pie' actor Jasmine Mooney for 12 days
Claim:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Canadian actor Jasmine Mooney — who had a role in an "American Pie" movie — for 12 days in early 2025.
Rating:
In March 2025, a rumor circulated online that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian former actor, for 12 days. Mooney's story spread in social media posts and articles detailing the poor conditions in which she was purportedly detained. Many people online noted she played a small role in the "American Pie" series of teen comedies.
ICE indeed detained Mooney for almost two weeks. Evidence for the claim's truth included Mooney's firsthand accounts from during and after her detention and statements from ICE and the Canadian government acknowledging the detention. As such, we rate this claim true.
We reached out to the White House to learn more about Mooney's detention and will update this story when we get more information.
An ICE spokesperson acknowledged over email that the agency had detained Mooney. The spokesperson did not, however, respond to our questions about the processing issues in Mooney's case, particularly her claim that numerous ICE agents who kept her in detention ignored her offer to buy her own ticket back to Canada. The ICE spokesperson sent us the following statement:
Jasmine Mooney was detained March 3 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for not having legal documentation to be in the United States. Mooney was processed in accordance with the "Securing Our Borders" Executive Order dated January 21. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the U.S., regardless of nationality.
That order, one of many President Donald Trump signed during the first days of his second term, read in part: "The Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate actions to detain, to the fullest extent permitted by law, aliens apprehended for violations of immigration law until their successful removal from the United States."
Per Mooney's own account, she used to act in film and television. According to entertainment news site Deadline, her credits included the 2009 direct-to-video "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love" (a spinoff of the original "American Pie" series), "Kid Cannabis" and episodes of "Loudermilk" and "iZombie." We found the same credits on an IMDb profile under Mooney's name.
Mooney's case gained widespread attention after she spoke to a reporter with San Diego's KGTV in early March 2025, while she was still in ICE custody. After her interview gained attention on March 12, ICE released her and she returned to Canada on March 15. Mooney spoke to the media when she reentered Canada through Vancouver, and shared her experiences in a Medium article that was partially republished by The Guardian.
On March 13, KGTV shared video footage of Mooney participating in the interview from the detention center:
In a statement to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, expressed concern about Mooney's detention and urged the Canadian government to get her back through diplomatic channels. He also said this incident added to Canadians' anxieties about their neighbor.
"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?" he said.
Mooney was in the process of reapplying for a work visa and had traveled to San Diego because her immigration lawyer was based there, according to an article in The Guardian in which she described her 12-day experience of being transferred between three detention centers with poor conditions:
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.
[...]
Thirty of us shared one room. We were given one Styrofoam cup for water and one plastic spoon that we had to reuse for every meal. I eventually had to start trying to eat and, sure enough, I got sick. None of the uniforms fit, and everyone had men's shoes on. The towels they gave us to shower were hand towels. They wouldn't give us more blankets. The fluorescent lights shined on us 24/7.
Everything felt like it was meant to break you. Nothing was explained to us. I wasn't given a phone call. We were locked in a room, no daylight, with no idea when we would get out.
Footage from Canadian outlet Global News showed Mooney embracing friends and family on her return to Canada after her release from ICE detention in mid-March. Speaking to media, she said she would not "wish" the experience of being detained on anyone:
Mooney added that she did not understand what had led to her detention, and admitted she had previous visa problems. She described her full visa process in her article in The Guardian.
"Canadian Speaks out in Tearful Video Call from ICE Detention." ABC 10 News, 13 Mar. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3arrX9KhH8." target="blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3arrX9KhH8.">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3arrX9KhH8. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Canadian Woman Detained by ICE Describes near 2-Week Ordeal. Global News, 17 Mar. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLXAsWYqCFw." target="blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLXAsWYqCFw.">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLXAsWYqCFw. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
"Canadian Woman Put in Chains, Detained by ICE after Entering San Diego Border." ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV, 13 Mar. 2025, https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/never-seen-anything-so-inhumane-canadian-woman-put-in-chains-detained-by-ice-after-entering-san-diego-border." target="blank">https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/never-seen-anything-so-inhumane-canadian-woman-put-in-chains-detained-by-ice-after-entering-san-diego-border.">https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/never-seen-anything-so-inhumane-canadian-woman-put-in-chains-detained-by-ice-after-entering-san-diego-border. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
"I Do Not Wish It upon Anyone": BC Woman Detained for 12 Days at US Border Details Ordeal. Global News, 17 Mar. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I74-xp2TBkI." target="blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I74-xp2TBkI.">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I74-xp2TBkI. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
"Jasmine Mooney | Actress." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3718957/." target="blank">https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3718957/.">https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3718957/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Mooney, Jasmine. "I'm the Canadian Who Was Detained by Ice for Two Weeks. It Felt like I Had Been Kidnapped." The Guardian, 19 Mar. 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney." target="blank">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney.">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Mukhtar, Ahmad "Canadian Jasmine Mooney Detained by ICE for Days after Trying to Enter U.S. from Mexico, Her Mom Says - CBS News." 14 Mar. 2025, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jasmine-mooney-canadian-detained-ice-us-mexico/." target="blank">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jasmine-mooney-canadian-detained-ice-us-mexico/.">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jasmine-mooney-canadian-detained-ice-us-mexico/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Owen, Brenna. "B.C. Woman Returns Home after Being Detained by U.S. Immigration Officials." CBC News, 16 Mar. 2025. CBC.ca, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-woman-detained-us-border-1.7484937." target="blank">https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-woman-detained-us-border-1.7484937.">https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-woman-detained-us-border-1.7484937. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
"Securing Our Borders." The White House, 21 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/securing-our-borders/." target="blank">https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/securing-our-borders/.">https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/securing-our-borders/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Tapp, Tom. "'American Pie' Actress Jasmine Mooney Describes 'Deeply Disturbing' 12-Day Detention At I.C.E. Facilities." Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025, https://deadline.com/2025/03/american-pie-actress-jasmine-mooney-detained-by-ice-1236328853/." target="blank">https://deadline.com/2025/03/american-pie-actress-jasmine-mooney-detained-by-ice-1236328853/.">https://deadline.com/2025/03/american-pie-actress-jasmine-mooney-detained-by-ice-1236328853/. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Vigdor, Neil. "Canadian Who Was in an 'American Pie' Video Says ICE Held Her for 12 Days." The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2025. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/us/mooney-canadian-american-pie-actress-ice.html." target="blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/us/mooney-canadian-american-pie-actress-ice.html.">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/us/mooney-canadian-american-pie-actress-ice.html. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
"You're Not a Criminal, But You're Going to Jail: My ICE Detention Story as a Canadian Citizen." Medium, 19 Mar. 2025, https://medium.com/@jasminemooney/youre-not-a-criminal-but-you-re-going-to-jail-my-ice-detention-story-as-a-canadian-citizen-08b4fa77a15c." target="blank">https://medium.com/@jasminemooney/youre-not-a-criminal-but-you-re-going-to-jail-my-ice-detention-story-as-a-canadian-citizen-08b4fa77a15c.">https://medium.com/@jasminemooney/youre-not-a-criminal-but-you-re-going-to-jail-my-ice-detention-story-as-a-canadian-citizen-08b4fa77a15c. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
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