- Karen Newton, a 65-year-old British tourist, was detained by US ICE for 45 days
- She was held due to her husband's expired visa despite her valid passport and visa
- Detained together, she was told she violated visa terms by assisting her husband
A 65-year-old British woman says she and her husband were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for 45 days while attempting to leave the United States at the end of their holiday. Karen Newton shared her experience with The Guardian, warning other international travellers to think carefully before visiting the US. What makes her case particularly striking, she said, is that she was carrying a valid British passport and tourist visa at the time of her detention. According to her account, she was effectively penalised because her husband's visa had expired, describing the situation as being treated “guilty by association.”
"Don't go—not with Trump in charge. It's totally out of control over there. There's no accountability. They don't seem to need a reason for detaining you," the British tourist warned.
What happened?
Karen, 65, and her husband Bill, 67, had set out on what was meant to be a dream trip across America, travelling through California, Nevada, Wyoming, and Montana. They planned to continue on to Canada for a two-month stay.
Instead, the holiday took a dramatic turn. Although Karen was traveling under perfectly legal tourist documentation, her husband Bill's visa had expired. The couple were detained together, beginning with hours spent confined in an office from 10:30 in the morning until nightfall. She was told that she was 'guilty by association', and that she had broken the terms of her valid B2 tourist visa by helping her husband pack for the trip.
"There was no reason to hold me [...] Bill's an adult. Why am I held responsible for him?"
What was supposed to be the final leg of a scenic North American journey became a six-week ordeal that Karen described as deeply distressing.
The Detention
US immigration authorities placed her in handcuffs and shackles. She spent the night sleeping on the floor of a secured holding cell before being transported on a 12-hour journey to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.
During the initial days of their detention, the couple said they were encouraged to sign a voluntary self-removal agreement. The document would allow them to return to the United Kingdom at the US government's expense and receive a $1,000 exit payment. In exchange, they would be barred from re-entering the United States for 10 years.
They signed the paperwork after three days in custody, expecting to be sent home promptly. Instead, they remained detained for another 39 days.
Seeking clarity about her situation, Karen said she repeatedly asked why she was being held despite having valid documents. According to her account, several guards told her that detention facilities were under pressure to hold as many individuals as possible.
She described the centers as resembling prisons, both in atmosphere and conditions. Because she struggled to climb onto a top bunk, she said she was instructed to sleep on the floor.
"Locking doors, guards everywhere, cells, everything clamped to the floor – it's how I imagine a prison to be. Prison would actually be better, because if you're in prison, you get a sentence – they tell you how long you are going to be there," she said.
In total, Karen and her husband spent 45 days in detention before being abruptly released, receiving little explanation for the prolonged confinement.
"I don't even have parking tickets in the background anywhere. I am not a dangerous criminal. I didn't enter the country illegally, and I had everything I needed to be there," she said.
