Graphic artist Rebecca Burke was on the trip of a lifetime. But as she tried to leave the US she was stopped, interrogated and branded an illegal alien by ICE. Now back home, she tells others thinking of going to Trump’s America: don’t do it
This article could have been written as a warning to others about lying to Immigration officials and the possible repercussions but they just go straight to making this girl the poor victim.
The whole article can be summed up with, If you lie to ICE (FA) and they find out (FO) you’re going to have a bad time.
She had been travelling on her own, staying on homestays free of charge in exchange for doing household chores, drawing as she went. For Burke, 28, it was absolute freedom.
It’s not free of charge if you have to work in exchange for room and board. She was employed by the home owners and instead of cash she got a room.
Her whole trip was planned around working off her room and board with manual labor. She knew exactly what she was doing, she lied, she got caught.
Yeah, doing chores around the house in exchange for stay is “payment”. No money exchanges hands, she gets to make friends, sometimes even have a personal guide, she wasn’t short on money and could pay for groceries herself, she even had the money to pay for a flight home.
Framing this as “she was employed” is ludicrous. Painting it as if she was dependent on it is ridiculous. Locking her up instead of sending her straight home is bonkers.
Also saying she was “fucking around” is a straight lie. She told ICE she was there with Workaway. She actually told them the truth. Lying would’ve been “I paid for my stay”.
I know empathy is difficult on the internet, but it seems like reading is even more difficult for you.
This article could have been written as a warning to others about lying to Immigration officials and the possible repercussions but they just go straight to making this girl the poor victim.
The whole article can be summed up with, If you lie to ICE (FA) and they find out (FO) you’re going to have a bad time.
It’s not free of charge if you have to work in exchange for room and board. She was employed by the home owners and instead of cash she got a room.
Her whole trip was planned around working off her room and board with manual labor. She knew exactly what she was doing, she lied, she got caught.
Yeah, doing chores around the house in exchange for stay is “payment”. No money exchanges hands, she gets to make friends, sometimes even have a personal guide, she wasn’t short on money and could pay for groceries herself, she even had the money to pay for a flight home.
Framing this as “she was employed” is ludicrous. Painting it as if she was dependent on it is ridiculous. Locking her up instead of sending her straight home is bonkers.
Also saying she was “fucking around” is a straight lie. She told ICE she was there with Workaway. She actually told them the truth. Lying would’ve been “I paid for my stay”.
I know empathy is difficult on the internet, but it seems like reading is even more difficult for you.