In this work of graphic memoir and journalism, British cartoonist R.E. Burke tells the story of how, in February 2025, as she was attempting to cross the border into Canada from Washington State, an innocent technicality led to hours of terrifying interrogation and, eventually, unjust detainment in an I.C.E. facility (run by the for-profit GEO corporation) for 19 days. In vivid colour and telling detail, Visiting America immerses readers in her experiences: her fear, despair, disorientation, and her fellow detainees' attempt to help her acclimate. Burke began to document, in comics form, the difficulty of navigating its haphazard, callous bureaucracy, rife with misinformation, stonewalling, and threats. As her mental and physical conditions worsen, despite the best efforts of the women to take care of each other, a campaign to free her mounted by friends and family garners international support. This is not only her own story, but the stories of the strength, spirit, and humour of the other women - mothers, workers, people fleeing war, genocide, and abuse - whose situations are even more precarious and desperate. They are trapped in a cruel, horrifying, and rapidly worsening system with no place safe to return to. Burke includes an epilogue with updates about some of the women she was detained with.
