British woman facing month in US immigration detention centre over visa issues

A British backpacker faces spending up to a month in a US detention centre 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 after attempting to make the crossing on February 26 and is currently being held in the crowded facility.

Her parents have spoken of her ‘horrendous’ ordeal as they work to secure her release from the centre in Tacoma, Washington.

The graphic artist is said to have been told by a guard at the ‘close to capacity’ immigration facility 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, western Canada.

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.’