Detained for Backpacking: A British Tourist’s Unbelievable Ordeal in the US
So imagine this: you're a British tourist, just finishing up a dream trip across the US. You’ve spent weeks soaking up the culture, doing a bit of Workaway—trading light chores for a place to stay—drawing, exploring, and just embracing the freedom of travel. That was Rebecca Burke’s story. A 28-year-old graphic artist from London, she was living her best life—until it all flipped in the most surreal and terrifying way.
Rebecca, or Becky as her friends call her, had been solo-traveling across the US for about six weeks. She’d stayed with welcoming hosts, helped with little household tasks, and documented her journey with charming sketches. She wasn’t getting paid, she wasn’t breaking the law—at least, that’s what she thought. But when she tried to cross the border into Canada, things went south fast.
Canadian border officials told her that her travel setup—staying with hosts via Workaway—looked too much like work. So they turned her back to the US. And that’s when things got really bizarre. Instead of being allowed to just fly home, US immigration officers detained her. They shackled her, seized her belongings, and locked her in an ICE detention center in Washington state. For 19 days. Nineteen.
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The most mind-blowing part? She was actively trying to leave the country. She had a ticket, she wasn’t overstaying a visa, she had no criminal background—nothing. But bureaucracy and a technical interpretation of her travel arrangements saw her branded an “illegal alien.” She didn’t even get legal help when she was forced to sign an interview transcript that boiled down her whole trip to “work for accommodation.”
Inside the detention center, Becky saw a side of America few tourists—or even citizens—ever see. Bright lights on 24/7. Cold meals. No privacy. Hundreds of women, mostly asylum seekers from around the world, stuck in limbo. But amid the harshness, there was community. Fellow detainees comforted her, shared food, helped her get access to phone credits. Becky even became the dorm’s unofficial portrait artist—sketching women who wanted to send pictures home to loved ones or simply brighten their bare walls.
But it was terrifying. No one would tell her when she’d be released. Her case officer was on holiday. ICE wasn’t responding. Her parents in the UK were desperately contacting the British consulate, the media, anyone who might help.
Eventually, with pressure building and her father speaking out on national TV, Becky was released and sent back home to Wales. But she’s still shaken. She left to see the world and came back carrying the trauma of being treated like a criminal for simply being a traveler.
Her story isn’t just shocking—it’s a wake-up call. The lines between tourist and violator, between visitor and detainee, are getting thinner. And in a political climate charged with fear and suspicion, even innocent wanderers can get caught in the gears of immigration enforcement. So yeah—Becky’s message to anyone considering a trip to America under Trump’s presidency? Think twice.
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