A Monmouthshire cartoonist's dream backpacking trip across America has turned into a nightmare after being caught up in the recent immigration crackdown in the US and spending 11 days in the Northwest Detention Centre in Washington.

28-year-old Portskewett woman Becky Burke was detained at the US/ Canadian border after her Canadian entry visa was declared void.

Her father, Paul Burke has warned others after his daughter, a ‘Comicsbeat’ contributor, was handcuffed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as she was crossing from the US into Canada.

The Canuck border patrol turned her away because they suspected she was "going to attempt to illegally work in Canada," possibly as she had her drawing supplies with her and was making comics about her adventures.

When she returned to the US crossing, immigration agents arrested her.

ICE won't let her go back to the UK until an immigration judge verifies the paperwork.

“What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare,” said her dad.

The work visa was arranged by Workaway who link hosts and travellers where guests help around the house as part of their stay.

But her family think this arrangement may have broken the terms of her tourism visa.

Workaway have said it was sad to hear what had happened to Becky but it was “the traveller’s responsibility to sort the correct visa”.

Her dad said that despite being a tourist with no criminal record, “she was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington”.

She had flown from New York to Portland, Oregon, where she spent time with a host family, helping with household chores in return for accommodation.

At the end of February she travelled to Seattle with plans to travel to Vancouver in Canada to stay with another family.

However, when she reached the border, Mr Burke said the Canadian authorities denied her entry as they were concerned she may try to work illegally.

She described how she spent six hours at the border, waiting while officials were "trying to determine if what I had been doing in America counted as work".

She said she was "interrogated" and despite explaining she was "not paid at all", it was decided she had "violated" her visa.

Ms Burke said she was being held in a dormitory of 110 people in a "maxed out" immigration detention centre in Tacoma, Washington.

“Becky’s current conditions are deeply concerning,” Paul Burke went on to say.

“She is sharing a cell, surviving on a diet of cold rice, potatoes, and beans (she is vegan), and has limited access to phone calls. Visitors are restricted to speaking through a glass screen via telephone.

“All her possessions have been confiscated, and she feels isolated and desperate to come home,” said dad Paul.

“We are doing everything we can. We are in touch with the British Consulate in London and San Francisco. An American friend is helping by sending funds to her inmate account so she can buy basic necessities like tea. But progress has been slow, and we urgently need more support.

“Becky is a kind, adventurous young woman who simply wants to return home to her family, he added.

“It’s her birthday on the 14th of April and we just want to get her home for her birthday”.