LRN No. 44: why the woman who cared for my kids is locked up in the USA

Bring Becky Burke home

I owe my career, my family and my happiness to the people who’ve looked after my children while I am working. Up until January, that person was Rebecca Burke, a graphic artist who lived on our road, four doors down from us. For two and half years, Becky brought my kids home from school, made them snacks, drew comics with them, baked with them, refereed their squabbles and took them out on day trips in the school holidays. She is kind and funny and a brilliant artist. We were so lucky to have her in our family. We love her.

I took this photo at Becky’s farewell party just before Christmas. Becky was leaving us to embark on the trip of a lifetime. She was going to backpack around Iceland, the USA and Canada, traveling on her own, staying for free in people’s homes on a Workaway scheme in exchange for doing household chores, creating comics as she went. You can see the kind of thing she makes on her Instagram, but here are some of the many wonderful cards she made for my kids:

We were sad to see Becky go, but I was full of admiration for her. I wish I had been as brave and bold in my twenties. Becky was following her heart, pursuing the life she wants to live. She is always her authentic self, in everything she does. That’s probably what got her into trouble.

On Wednesday 26th February, Becky tried to travel from Washington state in the USA into Canada. When she told Canadian border officials that she would be staying with a Canadian host family on a Workaway scheme, they told her she should be travelling on a work visa, not a tourist one. They sent her back to the American side of the border, where US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials handcuffed her and locked her up.

Becky has been incarcerated in Tacoma, Washington for more than two weeks now. All her possessions have been taken away from her. She is living on a diet of beans, potatoes and rice. ICE knows she is a tourist who made a mistake and just wants to come home. Even though she has been approved for voluntary departure, the caseworker who issued the approval has now gone on holiday. So Becky is stuck, in a shared cell, in an orange prison jumpsuit, in limbo. She has no idea when she will be released.

At a time when Donald Trump is clamping down on illegal aliens and cutting back on federally employed staff, when US/Canada relations are at an all-time low and when the British government appears unable and unwilling to stand up to the White House, Becky has been caught in a perfect storm. She was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong visa.

It is manifestly wrong that a tourist who makes a mistake can be imprisoned indefinitely. Becky’s dad, Paul, has been doing whatever he can to get the news out about her, but she still isn’t home. (There’s a GoFundMe to help fund her legal fees, her flight home, and the cost of her phone calls, but you can help just by spreading the word, too.)

Becky has rung me twice from the detention centre. She sounded bewildered but remarkably calm. She is worried about her parents, who are incredibly worried about her. She is drawing a lot - but has no idea if her drawings will be taken away from her, like everything else.

I love Becky, and I love the USA. I can’t believe we aren’t able to bring her home yet. I can’t believe this is happening.

Things that have caught my eyes and ears:

• enjoyed an afternoon at The Garden Museum, which is inside a deconsecrated church in Lambeth. Of course it is. I love London

• took a nostalgic trip to the National Portrait Gallery for their The Face magazine exhibition . (Fun fact: I did an internship at The Face the summer after I left university. The editor kept his jeans in the communal milk fridge. Something to do with keeping the denim dye in an optimal state, I seem to remember…)

• am learning about the secrets and science of storytelling from John Yorke’s Into The Woods - which I plan to deploy on my new podcast series. Watch this space for more info on that