HERTFORDSHIRE — What was intended to be a celebratory two-month road trip across the American West has culminated in a harrowing legal battle and a public warning for international travelers with any expired Visa or other paperwork. Karen Newton, a 65-year-old retired primary school administrator with no criminal record, has detailed her 42-day incarceration by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—an ordeal that saw her shackled, stripped of her belongings, and held despite possessing a valid tourist visa.
The nightmare began on September 26, 2025, as Newton and her husband, Bill, attempted to cross the border from Montana into Canada. When a vehicle paperwork issue led Canadian officials to turn the couple back to the U.S. border, American agents discovered that Bill’s visa had recently expired. Despite Karen’s documentation being entirely in order, she was not permitted to return home or support her husband; instead, both were taken into custody.
“Guilty by Association”
The justification for Newton’s detention has sparked significant outcry from human rights advocates. According to Newton, she was informed by ICE agents that she was “guilty by association.”
- The Alleged Violation: Officials claimed she had breached the terms of her B2 tourist visa by “assisting” her husband—specifically, by helping him pack for a trip on which his documents were not valid.
- The Escalation: Within hours of their return to the U.S. border, the couple was shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles. They were transported through the night to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington.
Conditions of Incarceration
For six weeks, Newton was held in what she described as a “prison-like” environment. Due to her age and physical inability to climb to a top bunk, she spent the duration of her stay sleeping on a thin mattress on a concrete floor.
- Loss of Communication: Newton was initially held incommunicado, unable to contact her family in the UK for several days.
- Health and Dignity: Beyond the physical toll of sleeping on the floor, Newton reported being denied basic privacy and access to her personal belongings, including her luggage, which remains in U.S. custody to this day.
- The Shutdown Stalemate: Her detention coincided with a 43-day federal government shutdown (October 1 – November 12, 2025). Newton’s son, Scott, was informed by the UK Foreign Office that his parents could not be released while most government business was halted—even though ICE successfully processed 56,000 deportations during that same window.
Systemic Allegations
A particularly disturbing element of Newton’s account involves the motivation behind her prolonged stay. She alleges that multiple guards at the Tacoma facility informed her that ICE agents receive financial “bonuses per head” for individuals they detain. “They told me there is every incentive in the world to find a reason—any reason—not to let someone go,” Newton stated in a recent interview with The Guardian.
Reflection and Returning Home
The couple was abruptly released on November 6, 2025, and returned to Hertfordshire, but the psychological scars remain. Newton, who had not been abroad for eight years prior to the trip, has issued a stark warning to other retirees and tourists: the assumption that a valid passport and “clean” record provide protection is no longer a reality at the U.S. border.
As of February 2026, Newton continues to seek the return of her confiscated luggage and is speaking out to ensure her story serves as a cautionary tale of a system she describes as being “totally out of control.”
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