A British backpacker went solo traveling in Canada and the U.S. But she's ended up in a U.S. jail after being detained at the Canadian border. Guards accused her of having the wrong visa.
28-year-old backpacker Rebecca Burke ended up being detained after trying to cross the border on February 26. She's been in jail at a detention center in Tacoma, Washington for the past two weeks. Her parents are speaking out, saying she could spend up to a month there. The backpacker is apparently desperate to come home, describing the center as overcrowded.
Burke arrived in America back in January. The backpacker spent two months traveling the country before trying to cross the border into Canada. However, officials found she had a issue with her visa. As a result, they arrested her and took her to a detention center.
The backpacker has been there since. Speaking with Times, her father said that he and his wife are upset about the situation.
He explained, "She's been classed as an illegal alien despite being a British tourist who wants to go home. She doesn't want to stay there."
Backpacker Detained
He said that the backpacker just wants to go home.
He said, "We really just want to get her home, this is a paperwork mix-up and we can't believe the conditions she's being held in. It's a proper prison environment. Initially we were very concerned that she was doing a solo trip as a young woman, but when she told us it was to the USA and Canada we thought it was probably the safest two countries for a British person to do solo travelling."
He said that he doesn't understand why his daughter is in jail.
He said, "She flew from Britain into New York in January - before the Trump administration took over - for the holiday of a lifetime. She travelled over to the west coast, a stayed for a fortnight with a family on Portland, Oregon, then in some hostels, a staying on people's sofas, then with another family in Seattle, up by the Canadian border."
He also said, "Near the end of February she was crossing over into Canada by land, with a family in Vancouver waiting at the bus station for her to arrive. She was looking forward to visiting a national park. But when she got to Canadian side, they suddenly said this arrangement of staying with a family in return for chores sounded like work, her tourist visa wasn't enough, and she should do the paperwork again."
However, America wouldn't let her back either.
He said, "And when she went back to the American side - where she still had a month on her tourist visa - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told her 'We're not letting you in here either', and detained her as an illegal alien."
The family is hopeful that a UK ambassador will step in for the backpacker.
