This one is very personal to the Broken Frontier team. R. E. Burke (who wrote for Broken Frontier as Rebecca Burke between 2020 and 2023) is currently being held in a US detention centre after being detained at the US-Canada border while on a backpacking holiday. It’s a truly horrific story which has now been covered by the BBC here. In a post on Facebook over the weekend Rebecca’s father Paul explained the situation in more depth. There are further details in that story on the BBC site.
Urgent Appeal: Help Bring Becky Home
Our daughter Becky, a 28-year-old British tourist, has been caught up in the recent immigration crackdown in the US. What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare. Becky has now been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over ten days, with no clear timeline for her release.
On February 26th, Becky attempted to cross the Canadian border for the next leg of her journey. Unfortunately, due to an incorrect visa, she was denied entry into Canada. When she tried to return to the US, she was refused re-entry and classified as an “illegal alien.” Despite being a tourist with no criminal record, she was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington.
Becky’s current conditions are deeply concerning. 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.
We are doing everything we can. Our local MP has contacted David Lammy’s office, and 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 and milk. However, progress has been slow, and we urgently need more support.
We are asking for your help. Please share Becky’s story widely through your networks. We hope to connect with experts, legal professionals, or anyone who can offer advice or assistance. Becky is a kind, adventurous young woman who simply wants to return home to her family.
Thank you for your support.
If you can share that BBC news story on social media to help spread awareness please do. We also posted about the situation here on Bluesky yesterday. Becky is a much valued member of our community and in her time with BF was so passionate and dedicated in working to promote artists and our wider scene. You can see her writing for the site here. She put in the work too with her Over-Inkers anthology where she provided a platform for multiple artists to talk about issues of mental health awareness. And she also generously provided some of the promotional art for BF’s 20th anniversary celebrations back in 2022 (below).
As I said at the top of this page, this has been of the greatest concern to the BF team both present and past, especially those who worked with Becky on the site in those early years of the pandemic, interacted with her at events, or sat on the odd morale-raising team Zoom call during lockdown. Decency will eventually prevail and we look forward to the time when this kind and thoughtful human being is back with her family, friends and community.
#BringBeckyHome
Tags: comics communityr. e. burke
— Andy Oliver
Andy Oliver is Broken Frontier’s Editor-in-Chief and site owner. He is also a co-organiser of the annual UK Small Press Day and has been a judge or committee member for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition, the British Comic Awards and the SICBA Awards.
English (US) · 