I was a British tourist trying to leave America. Then I was detained, shackled and sent to an immigration detention centre

[Boiler 46,627]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/05/i-was-a-british-tourist-trying-to-leave-america-then-i-was-detained-shackled-and-sent-to-an-immigration-detention-centre

 

When she tried to cross into Canada, Canadian border officials told her that her living arrangements meant she should be travelling on a work visa, not a tourist one. They sent her back to the US, where American officials classed her as an illegal alien. She was shackled and transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention centre, where she was locked up for 19 days – even though she had money to pay for a flight home, and was desperate to leave the US.

 

This a bit of an update and of course is written with lots of spin, but ends with her wanting to appeal her deportation, does not say on what basis as she admitted working and seems to contradict the never wanting to visit the US bit.

 

A real Journalist, do they exist?, would have asked a few interesting questions.

[TBoneTX 46,716]

These "journalists" typically muck up stories because of their lack of immigration knowledge, oversensationalize the situations, or both.  Their editors are probably much the same.

[Crazy Cat 43,041]

False Guardian headline since she was not a pure tourist. She was a self-employed contractor illegally working inside the US. 

Edited Saturday at 04:12 PM by Crazy Cat

[Boiler 46,627]

She used a site called Workaway...

[Crazy Cat 43,041]

Workaway has a specific item in their conditions which says: "You are solely responsible for complying with the relevant rules and laws in your jurisdiction (if any) especially with regard to your visas. ".

[TBoneTX 46,716]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Workaway has a specific item in their conditions which says: "You are solely responsible for complying with the relevant rules and laws in your jurisdiction (if any) especially with regard to your visas. ".

And she didn't follow 'em.  Out of the bedpan into the ____.

[Dashinka 25,217]

She answered “no” to the question ‘would she lose her accommodation if she failed to provide the service?’.  Is that how Workaway works?

[hplusj 344]

The "shackling" part is just silly.  I'm sorry, was she in handcuffs for the car ride or strung up like she was in a Turkish prison?  Please.

[Dashinka 25,217]

7 hours ago, hplusj said:

The "shackling" part is just silly.  I'm sorry, was she in handcuffs for the car ride or strung up like she was in a Turkish prison?  Please.

Definitely.  What is also interesting was she only made a passing reference to Canada Border Services turning her around due to an improper visa.  This is fairly common, especially at land crossings where people are turned around for suspecting to work on a visitor visa (visa free for USCs).  This happened once to my nephew, a technician of assembly equipment.  Of course US and Canadian border officers talk to each other, and now the jig was up as CBP was now informed that she had entered the U.S. using the wrong visa, and now had to leave.  The jist of the piece though seemed to be all about her not being treated like a queen, so she ends it with a warning not to travel to the U.S.  The warning should have been do not travel to another country with the improper visa.

 

 

[Boiler 46,627]

It does seem the US way to put anyone in cuffs, anyway CBP did not seem to realise she is special.

 

If she had been working in Canada and then sought to do the samne in he US she would have been refused entry and bounced back, I assume the Canadians would then have done something similar.

[yuna628 9,784]

*sigh* I have spent the better part of a week trying to get people to understand why this chick had this happen to her. Furthermore to get them to understand that this would have happened to someone in the same scenario in the UK. Not much luck, people either not reading or insisting that there's no legitimate for her detention. Overall, we could only agree that it's the best interest to send people on their way quickly, instead of holding them in these scenarios. Under the Biden admin I think an Irish band was deported because they were intending on playing gigs in exchange for free room and board. I don't believe they were held for a long time. 

[Boiler 46,627]

If she had flown in I would think it would have been quicker, the delays seem to be most obvious when people try to enter by land and they have no status in the Country concerned, well Mexico and Cananda.

[Dashinka 25,217]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

If she had flown in I would think it would have been quicker, the delays seem to be most obvious when people try to enter by land and they have no status in the Country concerned, well Mexico and Cananda.

I agree, land borders can lead to delays, hence longer detention.