(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former Obama staffer Jon Favreau complained on Wednesday that the Trump administration had detained a Canadian woman who attempted to re-enter the U.S. after her work visa was revoked.
Conveniently unbeknownst to Favreau, his former boss and ex-President Barack Obama also detained and deported Canadian nationals.
Among those deported during the Obama era is award-winning writer Ismail Aderonmu—a black Canadian—who in an X post reminded Favreau that Obama once detained him for 45 days.
Aderonmu, formerly a U.S. green card holder, went to jail for drug-related offenses while residing in Philadelphia. He was subsequently detained by ICE and deported to Canada.
“ICE has always operated this way,” Aderonmu wrote on Friday, addressing Favreau. “Glad you care now that it’s happening to a white Canadian woman. I went through the same exact thing in ICE custody in 2012—under Obama. Your boss at the time.”
ICE has always operated this way, @jonfavs. Glad you care now that it’s happening to a white Canadian woman. I went through the same exact thing in ICE custody in 2012—under Obama. Your boss at the time 🙂 https://t.co/3pdEwfayyf pic.twitter.com/oI3qzMsx5K
— Ismail (Ish) Aderonmu (@LegalishCA) March 21, 2025
On Wednesday, Favreau shared screenshots of an op-ed by Jasmine Mooney, a white Canadian worker whose U.S. visa was revoked after attracting the attention of immigration agents.
Mooney’s initial visa request was rejected, prompting a border officer to question the approval of her second visa. The officer determined that she could not work in the U.S. because she was employed by a beverage company that uses hemp as one of its ingredients.
Mooney was detained at an ICE facility for two weeks pending an investigation. In an op-ed for The Guardian, she described her experience as akin to being kidnapped.
Favreau took issue with ICE’s detention of Mooney, urging his X followers to read her op-ed. “This is our country now. This is how we’re treating human beings who’ve committed no crimes. Evil,” Favreau said, ignoring that Obama also detained foreign nationals.
This is FUCKING INSANE
Trump's ICE goons detained a Canadian actress because of confusion over a work visa for TWO WEEKS – shackled, thrown in a van, sent to AZ, kept awake, not allowed to contact a lawyerhttps://t.co/3DtPrwxwiK
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) March 20, 2025
Obama, once dubbed the “deporter-in-chief,” removed approximately 5.3 million illegal aliens during his two terms—surpassing the total of individuals removed by the Trump administration.
Tellingly, only Trump-led deportation got Favreau’s attention.
Don't forget Obama fans, the Deporter in Chief deported more people than all 20th century US presidents combined…pic.twitter.com/bmoC4AA1pc
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 15, 2017
