Woman denied entry at JFK describes ‘nightmare’ stay at New Jersey ICE facility
NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) — Jane can only remember crying twice during her hours-long detention after being denied entry into the United States from Switzerland.
The first time was when she was chained to a chair at John F. Kennedy Airport after six hours of interrogation. The second was when she realized her menstrual cycle had started inside Elizabeth Detention Center, a privately owned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility criticized for poor conditions since it opened in the 1990s.
“The way I felt, I smelled, I looked — dehumanizing,” Jane, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Nexstar’s WPIX. “They treat us worse than animals.”
What was meant to be a birthday trip after a battle with cancer had quickly turned into a nightmare when Jane was denied entry into the United States and detained at the New Jersey facility.
Documents on ICE letterhead reviewed by WPIX confirm Jane was detained and released from Elizabeth Detention Center this year.
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Jane’s experience left her scarred with recurring nightmares and bruises, she said. But as the daughter of political refugees and a language teacher, Jane has found new purpose.
“I had to experience this to be able to show people the ugly truth of America,” Jane said. “They took away from me my biggest love, they took away New York from me in such an ugly way. But I saw it, and I saw what this country’s doing with innocent girls.”
‘Where are you taking me?’
When Jane landed at JFK, she immediately noticed a different scene: What was normally a one-hour customs process was taking two hours. After she was asked routine questions, Jane’s passport was handed to a second officer, whom Jane was told to follow.
“OK, great, now it’s my turn,” she recalled thinking. “That’s when the whole s—show began.”
Until she arrived at the detention center hours later, Jane was never told where she was headed.
Jane was told she was denied entry because officers suspected she planned to work in the United States, something not allowed with the Visa Waiver Program that Jane has used without issue for years.
The visa waiver is offered to only 42 countries, including many in Europe, and requires travelers to waive their right to contest a deportation, according to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.
At the airport, multiple Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers combed through her luggage, phone, laptop, bank accounts and social media. They repeatedly accused her of lying, Jane said.
Travelers like Jane have fewer rights when interacting with immigration enforcement at airports, including having no right to an attorney, according to the Immigration Law Center. This was made abundantly clear to Jane.
Ultimately, Jane said she was put in hand, foot and belly restraints before being taken to Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, Jane’s loved ones had contacted the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The department this year raised issue with U.S. officials about the treatment of Swiss nationals attempting to enter America, according to a spokesperson for the Swiss FDFA.
In a statement to WPIX, a spokesperson for CBP said that a decline in illegal immigration has allowed the department to renew “thorough vetting and interviews” at ports of entry.
“A visa is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed,” a CBP spokesperson said.
The women she met in Elizabeth
Jane was checked into Elizabeth Detention Center, a 300-bed, windowless facility operated by a private company called CivicCore. It was the only ICE detention facility in New Jersey until this year, when the controversial Delaney Hall opened in Newark.
What Jane saw at Elizabeth matched the horror stories she had heard. Cold, dry, dimly lit, and filled with cries, the conditions were “inhumane,” she said.
“First, I was scared, but then, these girls, so kind, so nice, so empathetic,” Jane said. “I told the girls when I left, ‘Girls, I will try to use my voice, I don’t know how yet, but I will try to use my voice to show America what is going on behind closed doors.’”
Jane immediately became a translator for the women in Elizabeth, given that she speaks many languages. She met women from Haiti, Germany, Nigeria and Honduras, some of whom had been there for a year.
In an act of kindness, one woman gave Jane a feminine napkin she had after agents said there were none left.
In a recent New York Times report, the Department of Homeland Security denied claims that detention centers across the country are experiencing overcrowding and poor conditions, such as people lacking access to medication and feminine products and sleeping on bare floors.
Jane was held at Elizabeth for 13 hours. She said she was again put in restraints, taken back to JFK, and walked through the airport in handcuffs, accompanied by ICE agents and a police officer. Her belongings were given to the flight attendants and returned to her once the flight had taken off, Jane said.
She cried the whole way home.
The American ‘nightmare’
A spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said it has seen a huge spike in requests for help this year.
“Since March 2025, the FDFA Helpline has responded to approximately 170 inquiries related to entry into the United States, which is about three times higher than during the same period in 2024,” the spokesperson told WPIX in June.
There are currently over 57,800 people in ICE detention, according to the most recent federal department data. The last time ICE had over 50,000 people in detention was 2019. In February and March, the most recent federal data available, CBP denied 329 people entry into the U.S. at JFK.
“Lawful travelers have nothing to fear from these measures, which are designed to protect our nation’s security. However, those intending to enter the U.S. with fraudulent purposes or malicious intent are offered the following advice: Don’t even try,” a spokesperson for CBP said.
In Jane’s case, legal action against the U.S. would be futile, according to Pascal Ronc, an attorney in Switzerland who advised Jane.
“International proceedings against the U.S. are pointless, as the U.S. has never recognized the jurisdiction of an international human rights court,” Ronc said.
Jane thinks about the people she met at Elizabeth every day. The moment she checked out is burned into her memory, as she watched a group of men enter the facility.
“They are just about to start their nightmare,” Jane said. “I’m about to get out and go back to my safe, beautiful Switzerland, and these poor guys — who knows how long, and what they have to endure.”
One of many. SMH
