03 Apr 2025 ICE Detains British Citizen 19 Days For Doing Household Chores
The media news outlet “The Independent” reported that a British backpacker hiking near the Canadian border was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for 19 days, before being led onto a plane in chains “like Hannibal Leichter” and deported back to the U.K. Her crime? On a previous visit, she stayed with a family and did household chores, which DHS considered “work” and a violation of her visitor visa.
According to the report, the backpacker had been allowed into the U.S. on January 7, 2025, without issue. She was backpacking across North America when she was detained while attempting to cross into the state of Washington after having tried to enter Canada.
Under questioning about her past visits and future plans, she stated that she was planning to stay with a family, where she would do some domestic or household chores in exchange for them providing accommodations. She stated she had done the same thing on a previous visit.
However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considered household chores as “work,” which required a working visa instead of a tourist visa. Working on a tourist visa is prohibited. Since she was in violation of her visitor visa (for having worked on the previous visit), she was subject to detention and removal. According to ICE, “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removable from the United States regardless of nationality.” In this case, this U.K. citizen’s detention, “related to the violation of the terms and conditions of her admission.”
I have come across several cases of people who entered the U.S. as visitors, worked under the table for a few months, returned to their home country, and then came back to the U.S. a few months later to again work. But working on a visitor visa is a violation of that visa, and when they come back to the U.S., some are grilled and questioned by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the airport, and DHS is able to determine they worked on a previous visit, either by checking text messages of communications about the job awaiting them, bank deposits, etc. As a result, their visa was canceled, and they were sent airport to airport back to the Philippines.
In one case, a Filipina was visiting her sister, and while the sister was at work, the Filipina walked the sister’s dogs. The sister gave her $100 in pocket money. When the Filipina came back to the U.S. on a subsequent visit, she was grilled at the airport, and when she revealed she was given a few dollars to walk her sister’s dogs, her visitor’s visa was canceled, and she was immediately returned to the Philippines, airport to airport.
Canceling a person’s visitor visas and returning them to their home country has been going on for some time. This particular case of the British citizen is unusual (or new) in the sense that DHS detained this woman for 19 days before sending her back to the U.K., rather than sending her back on the next flight out. But this should be a warning to people who think nothing of working in the U.S. on a visitor’s visa. DHS is now getting stricter and expects people to abide by the terms of their visas.
If you have had issues with CBP at the border or airports or had your visa canceled and were ordered to return home, you may want to consult with an attorney who can evaluate your situation to determine if your name could be cleared or you could possibly be eligible for a waiver if you have another avenue to immigrate to the U.S.
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