Jane Eugene, the lead singer of the chart-topping 1980s British R&B group Loose Ends, is currently facing deportation proceedings after being detained by U.S. immigration authorities for overstaying her visa by more than two decades.
The 62-year-old performer was arrested two months ago by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents after attempting to cross into Canada at the Niagara Falls border.
Canadian officials denied her entry, prompting U.S. officials to intervene and detain her on May 3, 2025.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Eugene, whose full legal name is Jane Eugene Sendall Peters, has been unlawfully residing in the U.S. since the late 1990s.
DHS officials revealed that she applied for a U.S. green card in 1999, but the application was denied because she had already overstayed her visa by that time.
Now based in Los Angeles, Eugene has remained active in the music industry, performing with a U.S.-based iteration of Loose Ends and touring nationwide.
However, her continued presence in the country without legal status has caught up with her under the renewed immigration enforcement efforts championed by President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin addressed the situation, stating:
“The law applies equally, even to celebrities. Jane Eugene Sendall Peters was denied an immigrant petition for alien workers in 1999 and had already overstayed her visa at the time of application. She is now pending a hearing with the Executive Office for Immigration Review.”
If removal proceedings move forward, Eugene could face a mandatory 10-year ban from re-entering the United States.
Officials also hinted that Eugene’s case may serve as a cautionary tale under President Trump’s toughened immigration policies.
The president recently visited a Florida detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” reinforcing his administration’s stance on enforcing immigration laws regardless of a person’s status or fame.
Despite her musical legacy and decades-long contributions to the U.S. entertainment scene, Eugene’s immigration woes underscore the broader conversation surrounding visa enforcement, celebrity privilege, and America’s evolving stance on undocumented residents.
Her legal fate now rests in the hands of the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
