Rebecca Burke

Synopsis

Rebecca Burke (Becky), a British graphic artist, was on a solo backpacking trip in the United States when she tried to cross into Canada at the Vancouver border on 26 February 2025. Canadian officials told her that her planned Workaway arrangement—staying with a host in exchange for help with meals and laundry—required a work visa, and sent her back to the U.S. American officials then classified her as an "illegal alien" for having allegedly worked in exchange for accommodation during her stay. She was shackled and taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, Washington, a GEO-run facility, where she was held for 19 days despite having money for a flight home and wanting only to leave the country. She shared a dorm with 103 other women, drew portraits of fellow detainees, and was eventually released after her father went to the media; her case was covered in the UK and US press. She was deported on 17 March 2025 and is now back in the UK. She has said she advises anyone considering travel to the U.S. not to go.

Key takeaways

From court records, news reporting, and linked sources below.

  1. Burke was detained while trying to leave the U.S. for Canada; Canadian border officials sent her back, and U.S. officials classified her as an illegal alien due to Workaway (homestay-for-chores) arrangements.
  2. She was shackled and transported to the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, Washington, run by GEO, and held for 19 days.
  3. She had arrived in the U.S. during the Biden administration and became one of tens of thousands arrested by ICE in the first weeks of the Trump administration.
  4. She shared a dorm with 103 women; wake-up was 5:30 a.m., meals were limited and often late, and head counts occurred four times a day.
  5. She drew portraits of fellow detainees and became the dorm's unofficial artist; other women were asylum seekers, long-term detainees, and others who did not know why they were there.
  6. Her message to ICE on the facility iPad went unanswered; the officer assigned to her case was on leave.
  7. After more than 10 days, her father contacted the Foreign Office and British consulate, then went to the media; after her story broke, ICE moved her case to the top of the pile and she was released.
  8. She was shackled again for the trip to the airport and subjected to a full body search before boarding her flight to the UK.
  9. The deportation order bans her from the U.S. for 10 years; she and her family may appeal.
  10. She advises people not to travel to the U.S. now: both because of the risk of detention and because she does not want to support the country with her money.

Reference links

Related

Detention facility

Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC)→

← Back to Detainee Profiles