A British backpacker faces spending up to a month in a US jail after a ‘life-changing’ trip turned into a ‘nightmare’ as she was detained on a visa violation at the border with Canada.
Rebecca Burke, 28, was handcuffed while attempting to make the crossing on February 26 and is being held in a crowded detention centre.
Her parents have spoken of her ‘nightmare’ ordeal and are working to secure her release from the facility in Tacoma, Washington.
The graphic artist is said to have been told by a guard at the ‘close to capacity’ detention centre that she has been moved up the priority list but could have to wait another 10 days for a decision.
She had spent two months travelling across the US, including visits to New York and Seattle, after flying across the Atlantic in January.
The tourist, from Monmouthshire, Wales, had been carrying out household chores for families in the US in exchange for hosting, and was due to take up a similar arrangement in Vancouver.
American border force officials are thought to have found that the exchange amounted to work and not tourism, in breach of her visa.
The ‘unassuming girl’ has been left awaiting a release date at the facility, where she has been wearing an orange jumpsuit and sleeping in a dormitory of more than 100 people.
She has told her parents that the facility is ‘cold’ and close to capacity.’
Her dad Paul Burke, 60, said he and his wife Andrea are in ‘a nightmare we can’t wake up from.’
He told the Times that Becky has been ‘upset’ when they have spoken on the phone but that media and diplomatic attention has moved the case up the priority list.
‘If you’re going to put her on top of the priority list, why isn’t she on a plane tomorrow?’, Mr Burke said.
‘She’s been classed as an illegal alien despite being a British tourist who wants to go home. She doesn’t want to stay there.’
Referring to a conversation he had with his daughter on Monday, Mr Burke said: ‘She was a little bit more upset than normal.
‘But it was almost like she was slightly relieved that the ICE [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officer had said she is going up the priority list.
‘There were almost happy tears, like a release because she’s been trapped in this horrendous situation.’
Mr Burke also raised his daughter’s plight on Good Morning Britain today, saying: ‘We really just want to get her home, this is a paperwork mix-up and we can’t believe the conditions she’s being held in.
‘It’s a proper prison environment.
‘Initially we were very concerned that she was doing a solo trip as a young woman, but when she told us it was to the USA and Canada we thought it was probably the safest two countries for a British person to do solo travelling.
‘Becky has told us that she was told the detention centre is not a jail but the conditions are the exact definition of a jail – she had all of her possessions confiscated, she’s had to swap her own clothes for a prison jumpsuit.
‘She’s a vegan so she’s being given rice, potatoes and mushy beans everyday for the last 14 days.
‘We spoke to her yesterday and she said she’s had to see the medic because she’s got digestive problems.
‘I think most people would have digestive problems after two weeks on cold rice and potatoes.’
Mr Burke added: ‘Becky’s such a sweet, beautiful, unassuming girl who wouldn’t say boo to a goose.
‘She flew from Britain into New York in January – before the Trump administration took over – for the holiday of a lifetime.
‘She travelled over to the west coast, a stayed for a fortnight with a family on Portland, Oregon, then in some hostels, a staying on people’s sofas, then with another family in Seattle, up by the Canadian border.
‘Near the end of February she was crossing over into Canada by land, with a family in Vancouver waiting at the bus station for her to arrive.
‘She was looking forward to visiting a national park.
‘But when she got to Canadian side, they suddenly said this arrangement of staying with a family in return for chores sounded like work, her tourist visa wasn’t enough, and she should do the paperwork again.
‘And when she went back to the American side – where she still had a month on her tourist visa – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told her, “We’re not letting you in here either”, and detained her as an illegal alien.’
When he first awareness of his daughter’s plight on Facebook, Mr Burke said she had been ‘caught up in the recent immigration crackdown in the US.’ He continued: ‘What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare.’
The family’s local MP, Catherine Fookes, told Metro: ‘I am deeply concerned about my constituent’s welfare and the distress this situation is causing her and her family. Her family is desperate to bring her home, and I share their urgency in seeking a resolution.’
The MP’s team has been in regular contact with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and other relevant authorities to press for urgent action.
She added: ‘We have relayed the family’s request for voluntary departure and continue to push for clear answers on the next steps to get her home as soon as possible.
“My team and I will continue doing everything in our power to secure a swift resolution and will not stop working until my constituent is safely reunited with her family.
People taking part in the US visa waiver scheme are not allowed to work for any type of compensation — including exchange for room and board.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told Metro that privacy concerns mean it cannot discuss specific cases.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: ‘All persons arriving at a port-of-entry to the United States are subject to inspection.
‘As part of their critical national security mission, CBP officers determine admissibility of foreign nationals using U.S. immigration law [Section 291 of the INA [8 USC 1361] which lists more than 60 grounds of inadmissibility divided into several major categories, including health-related, prior criminal convictions, security reasons, public charge, labour certification, illegal entrants and immigration violations, documentation requirements, and miscellaneous grounds.
‘CBP officers treat all travellers with integrity, respect, professionalism and according to law.’
The CBP processes more than a million travellers arriving to the US via air, land and sea every 24 hours.
The spokesperson added: ‘In the event a foreign national is found inadmissible to the United States, CBP will provide the foreign national an opportunity to procure travel to his or her home country.
‘If the foreign national is unable to do so, he or she will be turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement Removal Operations for repatriation.’
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