Summary

Welsh tourist Becky Burke was detained for 19 days in a US immigration facility and transported in chains like “Hannibal Lecter” after alleged visa violations.

Burke had been backpacking and staying with host families in exchange for help around the house, which authorities suspected breached her tourist visa conditions.

Deported on March 18, she described the ordeal as traumatizing. Her parents criticized the harsh treatment and are considering addressing the issue politically.

  • peetabix
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    14 hours ago

    Me (British) and my American gf are planning to visit her friends and family over the summer in Navada, Washington and New Mexico. Not so sure i want to go anymore.

    • BlackSheep@lemmy.ca
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      4 hours ago

      Geezus. I’m right next door (Canadian), and I wouldn’t even consider going there. They’re going to start using ANY excuse to detain people. In December 2018, Canadian nationals Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were taken into custody in China. It appeared that their detention on December 10 and subsequent indictment under the state secrets law were linked to the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada on December 1. In English-language media, the pair are frequently and colloquially referred to as the Two Michaels. Wikipedia. EDIT: I spent 35 years crossing the border camping, shopping, and feeling like I was with trusted neighbours. Really sad…

    • specterspectre@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      Don’t. I used to hike around the southern states for fun. Currently residing in one. The border patrol goons are just headhunting to fill quotas now. Anybody is game. I myself am planning my move out of country right now. Even the magats are not safe and are willing to sacrifice themselves for their hateful ideals.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      If either one of you is even the slightest bit tanned, not that I find that likely in Britain, but I digress, neither one of you should even consider coming to this hateful place for the next four years at least.

        • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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          3 hours ago

          As I said, “at least.” I fully expect this bullshit to take multiple decades to Luigi everyone that is causing it because they just won’t stop being greedy and hateful.

        • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          Hopefully he’ll be deceased long before then but the reich is busy stacking courts and appointing party line people to jobs they have no qualifications for.

        • No_Ones_Slick_Like_Gaston@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          If you think he will, you haven’t been paying attention. Is more likely that he dies and the weird face guy has to take the copilot seat while Elon drives, just like today.

      • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        I’m brown in the US and I try not going anywhere. Every morning I have to drive by a school zone to get to the freeway and the police always parks right by the 20mph sign. If you don’t see the fucker there, he is somewhere already detaining someone.

        • AoxoMoxoA@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          I’ve got a few friends that were adopted , one of Columbian decent the other Korean. I askd them how their feeling about all this if theyre worried. My Columbian buddy is a little concerned , wants tinted windows on his car etc., cant say i blame him.

          Back during fuckboys first term my Korean buddy got locked up for a few months (non violent crime). I went to pick him up , when I got to the jail they said he was being detained. I got in touch later that evening and he was released. They were about to send him to Washington D.C. to get sent back to south Korea because of some bull shit error on his adoption paperwork from the early 80’s. Luckily it all got straitened out but he was scared , he said they weren’t fucking around. He was terrified he was going to get sent back to a country he left at 3 years old with no chance to return over a clerical error.

          I could only imagine the wrong people (im not saying anyone deserves this level of harassment) are going to get hammered by all this hair trigger jackboot coward behavior.

          I hope you don’t get fucked with out there

      • 0^2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        12 hours ago

        And i would recommend anyone from the US, already traveling outside, and not 100% bleach white, to increase your vacation time for a few years and not come back if possible as you will probably be detained even with a legit passport and documentation. Maybe seek asylum.

        • Amon@lemmy.world
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          11 hours ago

          not 100% bleach white

          More like any from:

          • Not 100% bleach white
          • Not 4 generations American
          • Not a MAGA
          • LGBTQ+
          • Related to any anti-MAGAs
          • Is pro-Palestinian or pro-Ukraine
          • Has any part of their identity that can be used as an excuse to deport

          Basically everyone other than Trump and the core MAGAs

        • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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          10 hours ago

          Maybe they’ll dust off the good ole “dirty whites” hate and discriminate against jews Italians and irish again.

    • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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      12 hours ago

      Call ICE hotline, explain that her friends and family are all illegal aliens, then you can all meet at the ICE detention centre - no planning stress!