B.C. woman returns home after being detained by U.S. immigration officials
Jasmine Mooney, 35, was detained after trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico, family says
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.
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.
"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.
With files from CBC's Yvette Brend, and Paul Tukker