Here’s what we know about the British tourist allegedly detained by ICE

In March 2025, a claim spread that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained British tourist Becky Burke in Washington state after she was refused entry into the U.S.

Snopes readers wrote to us to ask about the legitimacy of a Facebook post purportedly written by Burke’s father, which shared information about the circumstances surrounding her detention. Paul Burke’s post said his daughter had been traveling around North America and had attempted to cross from the U.S. to Canada, where she was denied entry due to an incorrect visa. He said she then tried to return to the U.S. but was refused reentry and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma.

https://www.facebook.com/paulrburke/posts/pfbid035PDe46gmDmxKJCB2axDLn2mtbR9WgCo7TGxARBsW1N7ZB5MzXR4fXcdksEs3GERLl

Elsewhere, on X (archived), a user published a thread sharing that Facebook post’s text across the platform, writing: “Becky Burke […] was ‘detained’ by ICE at the Canadian border on 2/28. Her father asked that her story be shared in case someone can help her.”

We were unable to independently verify with Becky Burke’s relatives the circumstances around her detention. We contacted Paul Burke to establish more details and will update this story if we receive a response. However, a spokesperson for the U.K. Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, which provides assistance to British tourists in emergencies, told us via email that it was “supporting a British national being detained in the USA” and was in contact with the relevant local authorities.

Paul Burke’s “urgent appeal,” published to Facebook (archived) on March 8, outlined the events leading to his daughter’s detention. It reads:

Our daughter Becky, a 28-year-old British tourist, has been caught up in the recent immigration crackdown in the US. What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare. Becky has now been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over ten days, with no clear timeline for her release. On February 26th, Becky attempted to cross the Canadian border for the next leg of her journey. Unfortunately, due to an incorrect visa, she was denied entry into Canada. When she tried to return to the US, she was refused reentry and classified as an “illegal alien.” Despite being a tourist with no criminal record, she was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. Becky’s current conditions are deeply concerning. She is sharing a cell, surviving on a diet of cold rice, potatoes, and beans (she is vegan), and has limited access to phone calls. Visitors are restricted to speaking through a glass screen via telephone. All her possessions have been confiscated, and she feels isolated and desperate to come home. […] Becky is a kind, adventurous young woman who simply wants to return home to her family.

Other reputable news outlets, including BBC News and British newspaper The Guardian, reported that Becky Burke had been detained. Paul Burke told the Radio Wales Breakfast show that Becky Burke’s detention arose from a “visa mix-up.” She reportedly arrived in New York on Jan. 7 for a four-month trip and, weeks later, took a bus to the Canadian border to stay with a host family in Vancouver, but authorities denied her crossing over concerns she may have tried to work illegally. Her local political representative Catherine Fookes, member of Parliament for Monmouthshire, confirmed to the BBC that Becky Burke was being held in an immigration facility in Washington.

Speaking to the local BBC radio station, Paul Burke said (section begins around 1:09:28):

It is unbelievable that, basically, a 28-year-old tourist caught up, we think, in the recent immigration crackdown in the U.S. […] Because of the visa mix-up at the border, unbelievably — and when I explain to people, I can’t believe I’m going to say this — she was taken, after five hours in a cell at the border, she was taken in handcuffs by Homeland Security in the U.S., driven to this large detention center in Tacoma, Washington state, and she’s now been there for over 10 days with no clear timeline for her release. […] She’s in an orange prison jumpsuit while her paperwork gets sorted out. […] She was traveling, just like you and I would do, on a tourist visa. She’d done all the research beforehand to find out what the visa requirements are. Her holiday was a mixture of backpacking and tourist sightseeing.

He also speculated as to why the Burke family thought the authorities at the Canadian border were concerned she might have illegally worked:

To make it affordable she used an organization which matches travelers with host families and then the traveler goes and lives as a member of the family. […] You get free accommodation and you do the housework, help out around the house, you just become a member of the family, take the dogs for a walk. And we think, we’re not sure but we think, the Canadian border guy interpreted that as work and because she didn’t have a work visa, he said, “You’ll just need to go back to the U.S., fill out the visa and then come and try again.” But it was when the U.S. border guy just on the other side of the road said, “We’ve now decided we’re not letting you back into the U.S. because we also consider that host family cultural exchange to be work.”

We contacted U.S. Homeland Security and ICE to ask for further details and will update this story if we receive a response.

Sources:

Al-Othman, Hannah. “British Tourist Detained by US Authorities for 10 Days over Visa Issue.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 10 Mar. 2025, www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/10/british-tourist-detained-us-authorities-10-days-visa-issue. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

BBC. “Radio Wales Breakfast – with Dot Davies and James Williams.” BBC, BBC Sounds, 10 Mar. 2025, www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0028r8d. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Burke, Paul. “Our Daughter Becky, a 28-Year-Old British Tourist, Has Been Caught up in the Recent Immigration Crackdown in the US…” Facebook.com, 8 Mar. 2022, www.facebook.com/paulrburke/posts/pfbid035PDe46gmDmxKJCB2axDLn2mtbR9WgCo7TGxARBsW1N7ZB5MzXR4fXcdksEs3GERLl. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Thomas, Gavin. “Dad of Detained US Tourist Urges Care on Visa Requirements.” BBC News, 10 Mar. 2025, www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80y3yx1jdyo.