Summary
Canadian citizen Jasmine Mooney was detained by ICE for two weeks despite having a valid U.S. work visa. Stopped at the San Diego border, she was abruptly arrested, denied legal counsel, and held in freezing cells before being transferred to a private detention center.
She witnessed systemic inefficiencies, inhumane conditions, and detainees trapped in bureaucratic limbo.
After media attention and legal intervention, Mooney was released.
Her experience highlights the profit-driven nature of private detention centers and the broader failures of U.S. immigration enforcement under Trump’s administration.
You absolutely need a visa. Just because you don’t personally have to apply does not mean you aren’t on a visa. And Canada already has a blacklist at the border. Adding more names is super easy.
https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1116&top=16
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Canada.html
They’re imparting general information to the general public. You are absolutely on a tourist visa while you are there and they can (and do) deny entry and deport people. You do not have some kind of right to visit Canada just because you are American.
You can deny entry when they scan your passport and see your criminal record JFC. Or for whatever other reason. That’s not the same as a visa JFC. I mean if you’re going to literally ignore what’s right in front of you. I’ve never seen such a stunning example of dunning kruger.
You’re right in the details, but I do have to question for how long.
The detail? That a visa is not the same as allowing/denying entry? That’s not detailed or complex information.
From a high level, “There is a process by which undesirable people can be denied entry” covers both “A visa is required to enter the country” and “A passport and not being on a watchlist is required to enter the country.” So yes, you’re correct, no tourism visa is (currently) needed for Americans to enter Canada. Also, yes, the other guy is correct that mechanisms can relatively easily be put in place to stop undesirable Americans of a variety of types from entering the country.
Mechanisms to deny entry is not the same as a visa. He thinks it is when he says “You do not have some kind of right to visit Canada just because you are American” and it’s not. Period. I can’t believe I need to have this conversation twice. I’m out.
You’re the guy who is saying Americans wouldn’t get work permits, yet a substantial number do every year. And while guards may not do that much, there are a lot of ancillary types who likely would. HR, facilities management, construction, security systems, and others I’m sure can and have opted to work in Canada at one time or other for a variety of reasons.
So there, now you both can be wrong, too.