Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Becky Burke, R.E. Burke

Details Of British Comic Creator R.E. Burke's Detention By ICE Emerge

Details of British comic creator R.E. Burke's detention in the USA by I.C.E. are emerging, as well as warnings for tourists coming to America

Published Mon, 10 Mar 2025 08:28:06 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Fri, 28 Mar 2025 06:15:26 -0500

Comments

Article Summary

British comic creator R.E. Burke detained by ICE for visa issues in Washington state.
Burke's cultural exchange deemed work; denied US re-entry after Canada rejection.
Burke's family struggles to communicate, UK authorities contacted for support.
Detention conditions harsh; expedited removal possible, but no clear resolution.

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool reported on London-based comic book creator R.E. Burke, or Becky Burke, whose family is in Portskewett, Monmouthshire in Wales, being held in detention by I.C.E. in Washington state in the USA, after she crossed from the US to Canada and back again on a tourist visa, as part of a four-month backpacking trip across North America. Despite attempts to get her released and sent home, she has remained in confinement in onerous conditions for the past eleven days.

British Comics Creator RE Burke Detained By ICE After Crossing Border — RE Burke, courtesy of Paul Burke

Her father, Paul Burke, talking to BBC Wales told them that R.E. Burke had been exchanging accommodation for helping host families "around the house", and he believes authorities may have suspected she broke the terms of her tourist visa. In his appeal, published by Bleeding Cool, he asked for UK authorities to get involved, and it seems that this is now happening, as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have confirmed to the BBC that they are supporting a British national in this situation and were "in contact with the local authorities".

Paul Burke advised travellers to be "very careful" about their visa requirements but says he could not understand why she was "locked up and she's in an orange prison jumpsuit whilst the paperwork gets sorted out" and that what was meant to be a life-changing backpacking trip "has turned into a nightmare". Previously, he states that R.E. Burke had visited New York and Portland, where she spent time with a host family, helping with household chores in return for accommodation. She then travelled to Seattle with plans to travel to Vancouver in Canada to stay with another family, "just like a cultural exchange". But the Canadian authorities then denied her entry as they were concerned she may try to work illegally and returned her across the border. It was then that US officials told her she was being detained as, according to her father, they considered "that host family cultural exchange to be work… So basically she couldn't go into Canada, she wasn't allowed in the US". That led to her being taken by US Homeland Security to an immigration detention centre in Tacoma, Washington. Paul Burke says that R.E. Burke has described the conditions in the immigration centre as "horrendous… at first she was just distraught. She was inconsolable. She is allowed to ring out using a shared iPad but we can't call her." And because their family is not American, they cannot add money to her inmate account for her to buy essentials, so have reached out to American friends for help. Paul Burke says that R.E. Burke has told him that she just wants to come home and has requested voluntary departure but has received "radio silence". They have been told voluntary departure has to be approved by a judge, but do not know "how to make that happen". Her parents are in daily contact with the British consulate in San Francisco, the nearest one to the detention facility, but "official channels can't get a clear answer about what is going on".

The BBC cites Melissa Chavin, a US immigration lawyer based in London, saying the process of appearing in front of a judge could be delayed because a number of appointed judges had been recently fired by the US Government. The alternative of expedited removal may be available, with a five-year ban on travelling to the United States. However its availability, while recently expanded by the current administration, appears to be rather sporadic, so R.E. Burke seems to be caught in a hideous administration loop.

Catherine Fookes, Labour MP for Monmouthshire, has raised the case with the British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty, and has stated "I am deeply concerned about my constituent's welfare and the distress this situation is causing her and her family" and has been asking the FCDO and others to "press for urgent action".