A British graphic artist who spent six weeks backpacking in the US was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for 19 days after attempting to cross into Canada, despite having money to pay for a flight home. Rebecca Burke, 28, from London, was shackled and sent to an ICE detention centre after Canadian border officials deemed her living arrangements required a work visa, not a tourist visa.
Burke had been staying with families through Workaway, a platform that matches travellers with hosts in exchange for chores. She arrived in the US on 7 January during the Biden administration but was arrested on 26 February, becoming one of 32,809 people detained by ICE in the first 50 days of Donald Trump’s presidency. She was trying to leave the US when she was stopped, unlike other recent cases of foreign nationals held for weeks.
Burke’s detention began when she tried to cross into Canada. Canadian officials told her that her Workaway arrangements meant she should have a work visa, and sent her back to the US. American officials then classified her as an illegal alien. She was held for 19 days, even though she was desperate to leave and could afford a flight home.
Burke’s story highlights the risks for travellers under Trump’s immigration policies. She had booked her trip six months earlier, when the presidential race was still uncertain. Her neighbour, who wrote about the ordeal, said Burke had been a beloved childminder and graphic artist in London before embarking on what was meant to be a trip of a lifetime.
Since her return to the UK, Burke has been recovering at her parents’ home in Monmouthshire, spending time in the garden with their dog. She warns others thinking of travelling to Trump’s America: “Don’t do it.”
