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Tourist detained in US arrives back in UK, father says

Nelli Bird
BBC News
Paul Burke Becky in a pink hat wearing a beige jumper is standing smiling, holding two fingers up in the "peace" sign. A forest can be seen in the background, and blue sky above it. Paul Burke
Becky Burke was denied entry at the US-Canada border

A Welsh backpacker detained in the US has arrived back in the UK, her father has confirmed.

Becky Burke, 28, had been held in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing centre for 19 days after being denied entry at the US-Canada border.

Her father Paul Burke, from Portskewett, Monmouthshire, told BBC Wales that his daughter had been reunited with family and friends at Heathrow Airport earlier.

A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection previously told the BBC they could not discuss specific cases but travellers were treated with "integrity, respect and according to law".

Mr Burke previously said he hoped his daughter would be released following a combination of media, social media and diplomatic pressure after her case was first made public last week.

Becky Burke was detained halfway through a "trip of a lifetime" backpacking across North America.

The artist had spent time with a number of families helping with household chores in return for accommodation.

At the end of February, Ms Burke travelled to Seattle with plans to go to Vancouver in Canada to stay with another family.

Paul Burke said his daughter was, however, denied entry by the Canadian authorities, who told her she needed to go back to the US, where she was then detained at the Northwest detention centre in Tacoma, Washington.

Speaking to the BBC from inside the ICE centre, Ms Burke described the conditions as "horrendous".

Paul Burke Becky in a blue woolly hat and green jacket standing on the Brooklyn Bridge in New YorkPaul Burke
Becky began her backpacking trip on 7 January

A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) previously said it could not comment on specific cases for privacy reasons, but added: "All persons arriving at a port-of-entry to the United States are subject to inspection.

"CBP officers treat all travellers with integrity, respect, professionalism and according to law."

The spokesperson said in the event of a foreign national being found inadmissible to the United States, CBP would "provide the foreign national an opportunity to procure travel to his or her home country".

"If the foreign national is unable to do so, he or she will be turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) for repatriation," they added.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had also previously confirmed it was supporting a British national.

Paul and Andrea face the camera straight on. Paul is bald with a grey goatee and short beard and wears glasses, he is wearing a light blue shirt. Andrew has wavy grey hair and glasses and is wearing a patterned white and black top. A dresser with pictures on can be seen blurred in the background.
Paul and Andrea Burke said Becky had been "quite emotional" following the case officer's visit while she was detained

Speaking from the ICE centre prior to her release, Ms Burke told the BBC: "They keep saying in all their booklets that this is not a prison. It's hard to distinguish from my conception of a prison."

She said she spent six hours at the border, waiting while officials were "trying to determine if what I had been doing in America counted as work".

She said she was "interrogated" and, despite explaining she was "not paid at all", she was told that she had "violated" her visa.

Ms Burke said she was being held in a dormitory of 110 people in the "maxed out" immigration centre in Tacoma.

"They wake us up at 6:30am. There is never enough time to sleep. It's so cold," she said.

She said she had had to wear the same jumper for a week and there was a shortage of lack of things like blankets and extra clothes.

Ms Burke said many of the people she met were "stuck" at the centre, separated from their families, for years in some cases.

'Quite emotional'

Paul Burke said his daughter had had to see a doctor while in the detention facility due to a digestive problem.

He said this may have been because she was vegan and due to the diet they had been giving her.

He said his daughter had been "quite emotional" since getting a visit by the case officer during her time in detention.

A fundraising campaign launched by Ms Burke's friends to help bring her back home reached more than £9,000.

The money raised helped cover the costs of legal fees and the flight home, with the surplus to be donated to help families in similar situations.

The organisers thanked those who donated for their "incredible generosity", with a message to say that "any surplus will be donated to charities in the Seattle area helping people in similar situations".