A vegan British woman has only eaten potatoes and beans since she was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while backpacking North America last month.
Becky Burke, 28, traveled from her home in Monmouthshire, Wales, to North America and had paid for her trip by staying with host families in exchange for completing chores. While Burke was attempting to cross from Washington into Canada, she was denied entry by agents who stated she needed to obtain a work visa, a GoFundMe page set up by her family explained.
When Burke returned to the U.S., however, she was "interrogated" by officials, according to the BBC, who decided she "violated" her tourist visa. The cartoon artist was then placed in the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma where she has remained since Feb. 26. Her possessions were taken, she has only spoken with visitors by video and telephone, and she has eaten beans and potatoes on account of her strict vegan diet.
Burke's family created a GoFundMe page with a goal of approximately $10,000 to pay for legal fees, advisory support and a flight home. They added that any leftover funds will be donated to charities in Seattle to help anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
The Burkes are hopeful their daughter will be released soon. After Becky's story gained traction across social media and news outlets, the family was told her case is going to an ICE officer to "schedule her removal."
"This is all good news but we are still trying to understand what it means exactly," Becky's father, Paul, told the BBC, adding it "could take up to a week, even 10 days."
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