'a Nightmare': British Tourist Allegedly Detained While Traveling From Us To Canada

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• Becky Burke, 28, was on a backpacking trip and deemed inadmissible to Canada.
• Burke was subsequently denied re-entry to the U.S. and detained, with her family and officials working to secure her release.

A British tourist has allegedly been detained for nearly two weeks after attempting to travel from the U.S. to Canada.

Becky Burke, 28, was denied entry into Canada “due to an incorrect visa” on Feb. 26, her father Paul Burke said in a Facebook post. She was on a backpacking trip across North America planned to last four months.

 “When she tried to return to the U.S., she was refused re-entry and classified as an ‘illegal alien,’ ” he wrote. “Despite being a tourist with no criminal record, she was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington.” He added that there was “no clear timeline for her release.”

Paul Burke did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Canadian officials were concerned Burke, an artist from Portskewett, Monmouthshire in Wales, intended to work illegally in the country, the BBC reported. She had stayed with a host family in Portland, Oregon, helping out around the house in exchange for lodging, and was en route to stay with another family in Vancouver.

Burke said she was stopped at the border for six hours, where she was interrogated before officials determined she had violated her visa even though she said she was not paid, per the BBC. She was taken to a “maxed out” detention center, she told the outlet.

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

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Canada Border Services Agency referred a separate request for comment to U.S. officials.

Catherine Fookes, Labour MP for Monmouthshire, told USA TODAY that her team has been in touch with the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and other authorities “to press for urgent action.”

“I am deeply concerned about my constituent’s welfare and the distress this situation is causing her and her family,” she said in an emailed statement. “Her family is desperate to bring her home, and I share their urgency in seeking a resolution."

An FCDO spokesperson told USA TODAY the office was “supporting a British national detained” in the U.S. and was in contact with local authorities.

The news comes amid President Donald Trump’s broader crackdown on immigration in the U.S., with highly publicized ICE raids and plans for mass deportations. Burke’s father said in the Facebook post that she had been “caught up” in it.

“What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare,” he wrote.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.