A Canadian woman, Jasmine Mooney’s, inference about her detention by ICE is correct. Trump’s crackdown on immigration is another grift to enrich his billionaire friends. Social Security cuts coming from White House.
Canadian woman detained by ICE.
Watch Politics Done Right T.V. here.
Podcasts (Video — Audio)
Summary
The video highlights the troubling experience of Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian woman unjustly detained by ICE for 12 days despite voluntarily attempting to return home. The discussion critiques Donald Trump’s immigration policies, emphasizing that the administration’s approach is designed primarily to generate profit for private prison companies and stoke political division rather than protect national security or address genuine immigration issues.
Key Points
- Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian citizen with no criminal record, was detained by ICE while attempting to renew her work visa.
- She spent 12 days in detention without clear reasons, communication, or adequate living conditions.
- The detention system profits private companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group, incentivizing prolonged, unnecessary detentions.
- Immigrants, including those who comply voluntarily, are exploited financially and politically by the Trump administration.
- The conditions experienced by detainees are intentionally harsh to maximize profits while stoking xenophobic sentiments.
Progressive Commentary
Mooney’s story reveals that America’s immigration system under Trump has become a cruel enterprise where human rights are disregarded for corporate profits and political gain. Progressives must demand a complete overhaul of this exploitative system, dismantling private detention centers and creating humane immigration policies that respect human dignity and reflect genuine American values of justice and equality.
Premium Content (Complimentary)
Jasmine Mooney’s harrowing account of her 12-day detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) underscores a painful, disturbing truth: the American immigration system—especially under Donald Trump’s political influence—is less about national security and more about profit, control, and fearmongering. Her experience, which she shared on MSNBC and in The Guardian, provides a firsthand look into how the system dehumanizes even those who voluntarily attempt to comply with immigration laws. And it highlights the grotesque industrial complex that has emerged, where detaining immigrants—especially women and children—has become a multi-billion-dollar business.
Mooney, a Canadian citizen with a valid work visa and no criminal record, was detained without cause or communication when she tried to reapply for a visa at the San Diego border. She had been planning to return home voluntarily. But instead of being allowed to board a plane, she was tossed into a cement ICE cell, stripped of her rights, deprived of essential communication, and forced to endure inhumane conditions. Her treatment isn’t just an unfortunate bureaucratic mistake—it’s a feature, not a bug, of a cruel, corporatized system that profits off misery.
This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it has reached an apex under the Trump administration. The actual fraud—the fundamental con—is not immigrants “taking over” America or committing crimes. The actual fraud is the systematic weaponization of immigration policy to enrich private prison corporations and feed xenophobic fears that drive right-wing electoral success.
The two largest private prison contractors, CoreCivic and GEO Group, have made billions off ICE contracts. In 2023 alone, GEO Group earned more than $763 million from such contracts, while CoreCivic earned over $560 million. These companies have direct financial incentives to keep detention centers full. The longer detainees stay—especially if they are transferred repeatedly, isolated from legal help, or deliberately left in limbo—the more money these companies make.
Mooney’s assertion that she and hundreds of other women were kept in ICE detention “as long as possible” is backed by years of reporting on this predatory system. The New York Times has documented how private prison companies aggressively lobby for harsher immigration policies. The ACLU has repeatedly exposed how detainees, many of whom have no criminal records, are held in appalling conditions with little recourse to legal help.
Donald Trump and his allies have leveraged this system to build a narrative of fear: “invasion,” “open borders,” “rapists,” and “killers.” These lies, which helped fuel his rise in 2016, are echoed in his 2024 campaign. But it was never about safety or sovereignty. It was about creating a new grift pipeline—immigrant bodies transformed into dollar signs for Republican-aligned corporations. Trump doesn’t care about immigration policy beyond how it can fill his pockets and feed his base’s resentments.
The cruelty is intentional. From separating families and detaining children in cages to denying basic hygiene to adult detainees, every cruelty under Trump’s immigration regime served a dual purpose: to deter immigration and to dehumanize immigrants. And when challenged, the administration cloaked these atrocities in the language of “law and order” or “national interest.” But as Mooney’s case shows, the targets of this system aren’t criminals—they’re often working professionals, visa holders, even asylum seekers who followed the rules.
And here’s where the more profound injustice lies: Mooney is Canadian, white, and relatively privileged. She had friends in the media, family support, and legal contacts. And still, it took 12 days to escape a Kafkaesque detention nightmare. Now imagine the fate of a Black or brown immigrant from Haiti, Honduras, or Sudan—without connections, without resources, without a voice. How long are they held? What horrors do they endure?
Jasmine Mooney’s story is a warning flare. It shatters the myth that this system exists to “protect Americans.” It exists to fill beds, inflate stock prices, and boost Trumpist political capital. Immigration reform must be holistic, humane, and grounded in justice—not driven by profit margins and campaign soundbites. Progressives must continue calling for the abolition of for-profit detention centers, pathways to citizenship, and an immigration policy that reflects America’s professed values.
This is not a partisan issue—it’s a moral one. It’s about whether the United States will allow itself to be governed by fear and greed or if it will rise to its democratic ideals of liberty and justice for all.
Mooney said it best: if she, with all her privilege, was nearly broken by this system, what happens to those without her resources? The answer is not just a policy failure—it’s a national disgrace.
Viewers are encouraged to subscribe and join the conversation for more insightful commentary and to support progressive messages. Together, we can populate the internet with progressive messages that represent the true aspirations of most Americans.
Leave a Reply