UK Comic Creator R.E. “Becky” Burke Handcuffed and Detained by ICE during Backpacking Trip

Welsh writer and comic creator R.E. “Becky” Burke was handcuffed and detained by ICE 26 February 2025 as an illegal alien rather than a tourist and has no prospects for release.

Burke was on a four month backpacking trip around North America. On 26 February she tried to cross the border from the USA into Canada. She was denied entry, ostensibly due to an incorrect visa. (This is odd. UK citizens should not need a visa to enter Canada and should only need an ETA if arriving by airplane.) When she tried to re-enter the USA, she was refused re-entry, classified as an illegal alien, handcuffed and taken into custody at a Tacoma, Washington, detention facility.

Burke is vegan, so her food is limited to cold rice, potatoes and beans. An American donated funds into her inmate account so she can get such items as tea and milk. Her possessions have been confiscated. Her cell is cold. Access to telephone calls is limited. Visitors speak through a telephone and look through a glass divider, and are not allowed to bring her anything other than letters.

Her family is in touch with the UK consulate. As of 9 March 2025 when the story of her captivity became public, there is still no sign of whether or when or where she might be released, or what to do to trigger release.

Burke is nowhere near the first UK citizen in the USA to be detained by ICE. She is a white woman with no criminal history.

Click here for more details.

Click here for a map showing ICE arrests by nationality of the arrestee.