U.K. Grandmother on Vacation with Valid Visa Allegedly Detained by ICE for 6 Weeks

U.K. Grandmother on Vacation with Valid Visa Allegedly Detained by ICE for 6 Weeks: ‘I’m Not a Dangerous Criminal’ Karen Newton said her husband, whose visa had expired, was also detained, adding, “Bill’s an adult. Why am I held responsible for him?” By Bailey Richards Bailey Richards Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023 and interned with the brand in 2022. Her work has previously appeared in PAPER Magazine, TV Insider and other digital publications. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 22, 2026 03:08PM EST 45 Comments A detainee inside of the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash., in 2019 (stock image). Credit : Jovelle Tamayo/For The Washington Post via Getty NEED TO KNOW A British grandmother was allegedly detained by ICE for six weeks despite having a valid visaKaren Newton said she and her husband were detained after attempting to cross into Canada from Montana during a tripThe couple was allegedly detained for 42 days, primarily at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash. A British grandmother was on a road trip in the United States with her husband when she claims they were detained by ICE and held for 42 days. Karen Newton, 65, embarked on a “holiday” tour of California, Wyoming and more states with her husband Bill, 66, in July, the British tourist recalled to The Guardian for a story published Saturday, Feb. 21. In late September, as they attempted to cross into Canada from Montana, Canadian officials turned them away due to incorrect paperwork to enter with the car they were traveling in, Karen said. Karen, a retired primary school worker with no criminal record, was traveling with a valid visa, but Bill’s U.S. visa had expired, per the outlet. The couple offered to pay for flights home, but they were denied and instead taken to an office where they waited all day, Karen said. She was confused why she was being detained, she told The Guardian. Her husband’s work permit had expired and he became frustrated with the green card appeals process and decided to retire in the U.K., according to the outlet. “There was no reason to hold me,” she said. “Bill’s an adult. Why am I held responsible for him?” Northwest ICE Processing Center, formerly the Northwest Detention Center, in 2017 (stock image). JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty “It was scary. You have no way of knowing what’s going to happen,” said Karen. “It got darker and darker. And then other agents turned up with all these chains and handcuffs.” The couple was taken, in shackles, to a border patrol station and held there for three days, sleeping on floor mats and participating in separate interviews. Recalling this point in her detainment to The Guardian, Karen said, “I was very nervous and frightened the whole time. And I was chilled to the bone — I couldn’t warm up.” She also thought to herself at the time: “When they listen to me, when they come to their senses, they are going to let me go.” Added Karen, “I thought they might escort me to the airport and put us on a plane — hopefully both of us. But that didn’t happen.” Instead, Karen said she was informed that she had broken the terms of her tourist visa by helping Bill pack for the holiday and that she was “guilty by association.” Said the grandma: “It felt like they just wanted an excuse to detain me.” Related Stories Man, Detained by ICE While Out Delivering Groceries, Was Reportedly Denied Medication Following a Kidney Transplant Father, 53, Dies of Pneumonia After Being Detained and Deported by ICE, Family Says: ‘No One Deserves This’ Karen claimed that an agent told the couple that they could return to the U.K. through the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services’ Project Homecoming, through which individuals can “voluntarily self-deport” and receive a complimentary plane ticket and $2,600 “exit bonus.” The agent said they would be banned from the U.S. for up to 10 years and waive their right to go before a judge, but “it will be over very quickly,” and the couple obliged, according to The Guardian. Then, they were shackled and transferred again, Karen said — this time to Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, Wash. PEOPLE reached out to an ICE spokesperson for comment on Sunday, Feb. 22, but did not receive an immediate response. “It’s called a detention facility, but it’s really a prison,” she said of the Tacoma facility. “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.” An ICE vehicle (stock image). Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Karen, who was in “disbelief,” said she was separated from her husband and taken to a cell, where she slept on the floor because a guard at NWIPC allegedly dismissed her claim that she was unable to climb the ladder. “The guard said, ‘Your choice is either the top bunk or the floor.’ So I set myself up on the floor,” Karen recalled. “That’s where I stayed for the next month.” She told The Guardian she lost track of time at the ICE facility, where she stayed for the remainder of her six-week detainment. Eventually, she got to see her husband and worked up the courage to call their son, Scott, who she had alerted to their detainment via text early on, before her phone was taken away. Asked why it took her so long to call, she told the outlet “it was humiliating” and that she “was ashamed to be locked up.” The U.K. Foreign Office told Scott the U.S. government shutdown at the time was preventing his parents’ release, and the British consulate told the couple that it could not interfere, according to The Guardian. Then without warning, on Nov. 6, Karen’s door opened and a guard told her that she and her husband were leaving. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. They returned to their home in Hertfordshire, England. Karen’s car battery was dead, along with her plants, and her credit score had been negatively impacted by bills left unpaid during their detainment, she explained, adding that their luggage, which was confiscated at the border, was never returned to them. The entire experience has given her a newfound appreciation for her “freedom,” she told The Guardian. “One day Bill commented on the poor weather, and I said, ‘Yes, but you know what? We can go out in it if we want to. We’re free.’ You only really appreciate your freedom when you’ve had it taken away,” said Karen. Our new app is here! Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now! President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown during his second term has faced fierce backlash. He has continuously insisted that federal immigration agents are working to rid the United States of dangerous criminals, though data shows that almost 75,000 people arrested by ICE during his first nine months — much like Karen — had no criminal record at all. “I don’t even have parking tickets in the background anywhere,” the grandma told The Guardian. “I am not a dangerous criminal. I didn’t enter the country illegally and I had everything I needed to be there.” “People think it is just criminals that are being deported, but they’re just a lot of people who went there for a better life," she said while recounting her experience in the Tacoma ICE center. "Is that really criminal?” Close Leave a Comment Read more: Politics