A British grandmother has shared a stark warning for anyone thinking about traveling to the US after she says she spent six weeks in ICE detention during what was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip across North America.
Karen Newton, 65, left the UK with her husband Bill in July 2025 for their first overseas getaway in years. The couple had planned a long road trip, taking in classic American destinations including California, Nevada, Wyoming, and Montana, before continuing on into Canada.
The holiday went smoothly for weeks. Karen later said they enjoyed the outdoors most—particularly the landscapes around Yellowstone—more than the bright, busy feel of the Las Vegas Strip. But on September 26, at the Canadian border, the trip took a sudden turn when they were told they lacked the correct paperwork to bring a vehicle across.
Sent back to the US side of the border, the couple then faced a second issue when officials determined that Bill’s work visa had expired. Karen’s own travel authorization was still valid, and she said they offered to pay for flights back to the UK themselves, but told the Guardian that officers “weren’t interested.”
What followed, Karen claims, was a 42-day stretch of immigration detention. She said their luggage was confiscated, and she was placed in restraints and transported overnight for about 12 hours in what she described as a “prison van” on the way to an ICE detention facility.
During the initial stages, Karen said she was unable to secure a lawyer because she was being detained rather than formally arrested. She believed the situation would be resolved once officials checked her documents and understood she had permission to be in the country.
She shared “I just thought, ‘When they listen to me, when they come to their senses, they are going to let me go.’ 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 says she was treated as though she were responsible for her husband’s visa issue, describing it as being held through “guilt by association,” even though Bill’s expired document was also the reason he had been trying to leave the US.
The grandma added: “It just went from crazy to ridiculous. It felt like they just wanted an excuse to detain me.”
While held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Karen said she repeatedly heard allegations that agents received bonuses based on the number of people detained—something she believed could explain why she was kept alongside her husband.
A statement from ICE given to the publication reads: “Bonuses for ICE officers are not based on arrest or detention numbers. Pay and bonuses for ICE officers are administered in accordance with office of personnel management policy.
“ICE officers risk their own safety day in and day out because they took an oath to enforce the nation’s immigration laws, not to make large sums of money.”
Karen said she spent the following weeks separated from Bill and housed in a large shared area for female detainees. According to her account, she was unable to use a bunk because of her age and mobility limitations, leaving her to sleep on the floor.
She also described difficulties getting meaningful assistance through official channels. Karen said attempts to reach the British Consulate led to little progress, and when contact was made, she felt it was made clear that there was limited ability to intervene while they remained in ICE custody.
On November 6, Karen said she was released and placed on a flight back to the UK with Bill. She added that when they finally returned home, they had not been reunited with their luggage and were met with unpaid bills after the long absence.
The experience has since led Karen to caution others about traveling to the US—particularly, she said, during Donald Trump’s time in office.
She told the Guardian: “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.”
ICE and the UK Foreign Office have been approached for comment.