The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has responded to claims that a British grandmother was held by immigration authorities for six weeks even though she had a valid visa, saying the detention was a matter of law enforcement, not an arbitrary action.
DHS said 65-year-old Karen Newton violated the terms of her visit by remaining in the US for almost four years beyond an earlier visa waiver stay, and by travelling with her husband Bill Newton, whose work visa had expired nearly 20 years earlier.
The Department said these issues, along with problems with the couple’s car papers at the Canada‑US border, were enough to require closer checks and detention under the law.
The couple had been on a road trip across US when they attempted to cross into Canada in September 2025. Canadian authorities turned them away because they lacked proper documentation for their car. When they tried to return to US, border officials discovered Newton’s visa had long expired. Although Newton’s tourist visa and passport were both valid, she was detained along with her husband by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Newton told The Guardian she had no criminal record and was confused about her detention. “There was no reason to hold me,” she said. “Bill’s an adult. Why am I held responsible for him?”
The couple were shackled and taken to a border patrol station, held overnight, and then transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Centre in Tacoma, Washington, where they spent six weeks. Newton described the facility as prison‑like, saying she slept on the floor because she could not reach the top bunk.
During their detention, an immigration agent told the couple they could choose “voluntary self‑deportation.” The family was informed that this offer came with a ban from re‑entering US for up to ten years and that they would waive their right to a court hearing.
Newton said she and her husband were eventually released without warning on November 6, 2025 and flown back to UK. Following their return to Hertfordshire, she reported that her luggage was never returned by officials, and her credit score suffered because bills went unpaid during their detention.
“I am not a dangerous criminal,” she said. “I didn’t enter the country illegally and I had everything I needed to be there.”
The case has drawn international attention to how immigration laws are enforced at borders and in detention centres. The Department of Homeland Security has stated that officers acted within the law, given the lengthy previous visa overstay and other factors.
