Customs and Border Protection have denied allegations that they asked a 32-year-old cat sitter from Australia who was traveling from LAX airport to Canada if she had had an abortion.
Madolline Gourley says she had a nightmare on June 30, 2022, when she landed at Los Angeles International Airport on her way to Canada, looking after cat and house.
She told DailyMail.com during her nearly six-hour interrogation that her passport had been seized, bank records searched, mugshots and fingerprints taken, and two body searches conducted, in addition to a series of other searches and videotaped interrogations.
But she says the most bizarre part of the ordeal was when one of the female immigration officers asked if she was pregnant, or if she had “had a recent abortion.”
‘The question was strange. I was on my way to Canada for vacation and these guys pulled me in because of the suspicion that I entered the country to work illegally, but meanwhile they are asking me inappropriate questions,” she said.
‘I said to them ‘No! Why didn’t they ask if I had epilepsy or diabetes? she said.
Madolline Gourley, 32, said she had a nightmare when she landed at Los Angeles International Airport on June 30, 2022. She told DailyMail.com that her passport was confiscated, detained and interrogated for hours at LAX by several immigration officers.
Gourley says the most bizarre part of the ordeal was when one of the female immigration officers asked if she was pregnant, or if she had ‘had a recent abortion’
Jaime Ruiz, public affairs for the US Customs and Border Protection/US Department of Homeland Security, told DailyMail.com that “the word abortion has never been used.” He said: ‘The officers involved have acted with integrity, respect and professionalism, in accordance with US laws and regulations’
Jaime Ruiz, public affairs for the US Customs and Border Protection/US Department of Homeland Security, sent DailyMail.com a lengthy statement outlining their policies, denying Gourley’s claims.
“We never use the word abortion. We say termination of pregnancy. You can go back to the policy law where the word abortion is never mentioned,” Ruiz said.
He further explained that the immigration officer spoke to CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, but said he was unable to provide further information on the matter.
“We cannot disclose details due to the privacy law, but we confirm that an investigation has been conducted and that we have not found any wrongdoing,” he said.
“The involved agents have acted with integrity, respect and professionalism in accordance with US laws and regulations.”
He continued, saying “the story has been taken out of context” and that the incident “had nothing to do with politics or whatever”. Nothing to do with abortion today. It’s not related at all. The word abortion has never been used.’
Gourley said she was trying to stay hopeful and thought she would eventually get permission to board the plane to Canada. She said the last time she came to the United States was in January and stayed until April
Gourley traveled with an ESTA – Electronics Systems for Travel Authorization – similar to a VISA. She says she’s never had a problem. But the visa waiver program prohibits pet sitting, house sitting, or childcare in exchange for room and board
Gourley said she thought she would eventually be allowed to board the plane to Canada because she had never had any problems. In January she came to the United States, stayed until April and had no problem.
But Gourley was escorted by an immigration officer to the plane which took off 15 minutes after she was told she would be deported.
Gourley traveled with an ESTA – Electronics Systems for Travel Authorization – similar to a VISA. She says she’s never had a problem. But the visa waiver program prohibits pet sitting, house sitting, or childcare in exchange for room and board.
It has been nearly three months since the incident and Gourley is still angry at the way she was treated, describing the immigration officer as “hostile and rude”.
“How can they say that the female officer ‘acted with integrity, respect and professionalism’ when she yelled at me several times?” she asked. “Is yelling at a traveler considered professional in this type of work?”
In response to the DPA statement about her complaint, she insists they said ‘abortion’ and told the Daily Mail that she still doesn’t understand why it is routine to ask questions about pregnancy and ‘pregnancy loss’.
‘To do [men] are they asked whether they are sperm donors or have recently had surgery for prostate cancer?’ she asked.
Gourley plans to consult a lawyer about how she was treated when it came to her reproductive status.