I was reapplying for my work visa in the immigration office. I was doing everything completely legally. I came to the U.S. legally 11 and a half years ago. I was granted asylum. Then I got a notice to appear in one of ICE’s offices in June for what they called a routine check-in. We went to Cancún for vacation with my family. When we came back, got out of the plane, they pulled me aside and I didn’t understand why. They said: “You need to reapply through the consulate and we need to send you back to Canada.” And in my head, I thought that meant: OK, I’m just getting on a plane and going home. I was never concerned. I had a green card. I traveled multiple times before out of the country. I was sitting there, looking for flights to go home, and I was taken. They were like: “We have to detain you.” I was under arrest. With no explanation. It felt like I had been kidnapped. You’re kidnapping me. They said they are detaining and deporting people who are here illegally and criminals. I was never in the country illegally. I did not come here illegally. I was legal from day one. Having a mother taken away from her kids, I felt like a knife was just like — it’s like stabbing my heart. I never expect this in America. I was taken to the first detention center in chains. When I got there, I was like: Where am I? It looks like a prison. They took us to the booking. We’re asked to strip naked in front of each other. There were 30 of us in one cell, just like a line of bunks and then open showers and toilets. And you are supposed to use this toilet in front of 12, 14 other people. If I wanted to use the bathroom, I feel violated. What did we do to be treated this way? That is inhumane. I was treated like a criminal, like I killed somebody. And every single time I asked a question, it was: “I’m not your case officer. I don’t know. I’m just doing my job.” They said, “Listen, I know every one of you will say, ‘I left my kids at home with no one to take care of them.’ I don’t care. You will say that you haven’t eaten anything all day long. I don’t care. You will say that you’re terrified, you are here unjustly. I don’t care.” Super cold. Freezing, freezing. They nicknamed them the ICE boxes. I don’t think it’s more than 30 degrees. We’re huddled, trying to stay warm, wrapped in these aluminum foils, looking like dead bodies. There’s no window that you can look outside. I never was able to breathe fresh air. Fluorescent lights are shining 24/7. I couldn’t sleep. We kept hearing rats squeal, like, scream. One of the girls had her period, and there was blood everywhere. They knew I was on my menstrual cycle, but I was not offered to shower for five days. This nurse comes in, and she’s like: “Pregnancy test.” She made us pee in front of each other into these Dixie cups. We’re all just standing there in a circle, holding our open urine, and she’s plopping these pregnancy tests in and then being like: “OK, you guys are good. Chuck it back in the toilet.” The food was horrible. It was disgusting. I ended up getting very sick. I lost a lot of my weight. Twenty pounds. My body was really starting to shut down. I felt like, oh, my goodness, am I going to die here? I worked as a journalist in Egypt and I was persecuted and detained and tortured. My experience at the Butler County Jail was more traumatizing than my detention in Egypt. I got woken up in the middle of the night, and they’re like: “Jasmine, you’re leaving.” I jumped up. I’m like: I’m going home? And they’re like: “We’re being transferred.” She said: “We’re going to transfer you to Maine.” I was like: Maine? “You’re going to Arizona.” I’m like: Why am I going to Arizona? I begged every single guard for help. Can you please tell anyone, your supervisor, that I would love to pay for my flight home? Just get me out of here. ICE issued a statement saying I was was “detained for not having legal documentation to be in the U.S.” I do not support anyone being in a country illegally. I had all my paperwork. I was in the immigration office. I was never in the country illegally. It says “a green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if a law is broken and abused.” In my early 20s, I was young. I was in college. I got in trouble for possession of marijuana. I was pardoned. It was dismissed. It’s been years. And I have renewed my green card twice. Never had an issue with immigration. “U.S.C.I.S. obtained evidence that indicated you provided material support to a Tier 3 terrorist organization.” I volunteered with a nonprofit that took care of orphans and poor and sick people in Egypt. So basically, they tried to link this nonprofit which is a most reputable, respected nonprofit to a Tier 3 undesignated terrorist organization. This is how they framed it. I don’t feel like this was a mistake. I feel like this was on purpose. That is not a rare case. This is systematic. They are just grabbing anyone that they can. They’re trying to find ways to deport as many people, even if these people were here legally. Not knowing what’s going to happen to me, it felt like that was the worst because I wanted just to call my husband. I wanted to hear my kids, that my kids are OK. During the time that I was there, it was also my daughter’s birthday. I feel like they took that away from me. I was scared they were going to forget me. I was put on solitary confinement for six days for advocating for myself and the other Muslim inmates to have a quiet space to pray. That’s when my mental health started to deteriorate too fast. “It’s just a matter of time. You will get deported and get killed in Egypt.” That was the thing that I couldn’t get out of my mind. I’ll just get deported and get killed. I had a medical check, and I had to go visit this nurse. She could tell that I was distraught and confused, and she looked at me. And she goes: “Can I pray for you?” And she said this beautiful prayer in Spanish that I have no idea what she was saying. I just cried, and I cried. And I cried. And she just held my hands, and I was like: OK, I’m going to get through this. An officer called and said, “Pack your stuff.” Where am I going? “Just pack your stuff.” I was transferred back to the San Diego prison. It was a two-hour drive. Someone just grabbed me and said: “You’re coming with me this way.” She’s like: “Yeah, Uncuff her. She’s being released today.” My eyes just like: What? He said, “You are released.” I actually forget what the word ‘released’ mean in English, to be honest. It just, I didn’t — “What do you mean by released?” I was in shock. They stripped the chains off of me quickly, snuck me into the airport, escort me onto the plane, sit me down, and they’re like: “OK, you’re free. You can use your cellphone now. Take care.” And they’re kind of like, “Outside.” And I did not know where to go. I didn’t have a phone. An officer said, “We just got this letter today. The Department of Homeland Security reinstated your asylum status. It was the happiest moment of my entire life. [ARABIC SPEAKING] “Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.” So the first thing we did was to drive to the mosque. Then we went out to eat in a Palestinian restaurant. I ate a lot. I was happy to see my husband. I was more happy to see my girls, no offense. The youngest one was having nightmares and kept waking up. So I knew they needed me and just reassure them I’m OK, even though it’s still hard for me. It’s still fragile. I am a different person than the person that got detained. I lost my job that I love. I lost my health insurance. I was not able to finish my degree all because I got detained for 73 days. I was so lucky to have only been in there for two weeks. Can you imagine someone in the system that doesn’t have my privilege, all the lawyers, all the money, all my connections? The majority of the women that I met have been in there for months. I received a five-year ban from America. Everyone asked me, they’re like: “Well, you’re never going to go back, are you?” I’m appealing. I want to go back. I love America. I am in the process now of getting my citizenship. I still love the American people. But I’m doubting if I’ll ever feel safe and call the United States my home. I don’t think this government will stop. Your government is funding a system that doesn’t follow any rules. Immigrants will be the first target. After that, they will target any opposition. Violating due process this time means they will violate it again and again and again.
