Karen Newton, a 65-year-old British grandmother, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for six weeks while travelling with a valid tourist visa. The incident occurred in September 2025 as she and her husband, Bill, attempted to leave the US for Canada. Canadian officials turned them back due to incorrect paperwork for their car, and US border control detained them because Bill's visa had expired, despite Karen's being valid.
Karen was handcuffed, shackled, and transported to the Northwest ICE Processing Center, where she slept on a cell floor. She has no criminal record and had not entered the US illegally. During her detention, guards told her that ICE officers receive bonuses for each person they detain, a claim supported by the agency's increased funding under the Trump administration.
Karen's ordeal is part of a pattern of international tourist detentions since President Trump's second inauguration in January 2025. Similar cases include German tourists Jessica Brösche, Lucas Sielaff, and Fabian Schmidt, British backpacker Rebecca Burke, Canadian actor Jasmine Mooney, and New Zealander Sarah Shaw with her son. Karen warns others: 'Don't go to the US – not with Trump in charge.'
