Josiane Domingos a Brazilian content creator, went viral when she told that she was stuck in immigration at the airport in Los Angeles, in the United States, at the end of December last year.
In a series of videos on her TikTok account, which has almost three million followers, Jojo, as she is known, reported that she lived through “nightmare” days.
As she is naturalized Portuguese and lives in London, she has a European passport, and the necessary visa – the ESTA – was up to date. Still, she was accosted by immigration agents as soon as she got off the plane.
She spent three days at immigration and, in the end, was deported without hearing any kind of justification.
to CNN, Josiane said that, because she was afraid of flying, she had panic attacks throughout the journey and that she even received help with oxygen masks from the on-board team.
However, as soon as she landed in the American city, she was “greeted” by police officers at the plane door: “They told me that, as they had gone to pick me up straight from the landing line, it was because something was wrong”.
Jojo says she tried to question it, but the agents were harsh and took her to the immigration room.
@josyanedomingos ⚠️I was deported pt1⚠️ #fy #foryou #brasileiranagringa
“Nightmare” days
Without a cell phone, bags or documents, the influencer was questioned for hours on end on December 23. She tried to show that she worked with the internet and that her European passport and electronic visa were in order, but without success.
Josi reports that she felt “attacked” and verbally abused at all times. From her point of view, she went through the situation as a Latina woman: “I know that the United States has a history of strong prejudice.
Several times, in the questions they asked me, they insinuated that I was a prostitute or involved with gangs and drug trafficking”.
After having bought a new ticket to return to London on her own, she was prevented from boarding. Two more days passed. During the period, Josi was only able to speak to the family on two occasions, one of them on Christmas Eve.
The expected return only took place on the 26th, on a flight selected by the police agents. Once again, she was taken to the door of the plane, and only managed to gain access to her cell phone after a three-hour flight.
Damage and measures taken
Between accommodations and reservations that were not used, and the flight back to London that she bought and lost, Josiane accounts for around three thousand pounds of damage, the equivalent of almost R$ 20 thousand. Apart from the trauma – which she won’t soon forget.
For the time being, she still has not found an immigration lawyer to take the appropriate measures and processes, but fears that, in doing so, she may be banned from returning to the country: “If I go to court, it may never be possible again. manage to get back there, but the psychological and emotional damage is the worst”.
questioned by CNN the US embassy said in a statement that “due to US government privacy law,” it cannot share information about individual cases.
The country’s visa waiver program, ESTA, covers the case of Josiane Domingos, who carried a European passport and the requested electronic authorization.
Source: CNN Brasil
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