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By Steve Mollman
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A 65-year-old British grandmother who went on vacation in the United States but ended up in a prison-like ICE detention for six weeks is warning people to avoid travel to the country for the FIFA World Cup this summer. Karen Newton offered the advice while recounting her unexpected ordeal to The Guardian in an article published Saturday.
"Don’t go–not with Trump in charge. It’s totally out of control over there," she told the British outlet. "There’s no accountability. They don’t seem to need a reason for detaining you.”
Newsweek has not independently verified her story and has contacted ICE via email for comment and more information on Sunday.
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The Context
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place this summer in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. U.S. organizers and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expect millions of international visitors, with estimates showing between 5 and 7 million fans heading specifically to the U.S.
The Trump administration has faced scrutiny over federal immigration operations in the country, particularly after federal immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January. Several reports about their tactics used in immigration enforcement operations, such as allegations that they have used children as “bait,” as well as reports that individuals with no criminal records have been detained, have also raised eyebrows.
What To Know
Newton, who said she enjoys puzzles and stitching, told The Guardian she was on a road-trip holiday with her husband Bill in the U.S. last year. On September 26, when they tried to drive into Canada, they were refused entry due to issues with vehicle paperwork. The real trouble began when they encountered U.S. border authorities on the way back.
Newton's visa and documents were in good order as she had a British passport and a tourist visa, but her husband's visa had expired, she told the paper. He’d been working in America with a valid work permit, but, lacking a green card and frustrated with the appeals process, had retired in the United Kingdom. Border control officers deemed Karen, who has no criminal record, of being "guilty by association," Newton told The Guardian. After being shackled and held for hours without explanation, she was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where she and Bill were separated, she said.
“I don’t even have parking tickets in the background anywhere,” she told the outlet. “I am not a dangerous criminal. I didn’t enter the country illegally and I had everything I needed to be there.”
Karen likened the conditions at the detention center to a prison, saying she slept on a thin mattress on the floor and was initially offered no medical or legal support.
“Individual ICE agents get money per head that they detain—the guards told me that,” Karen, who was released alongside her husband on November 6, told The Guardian while back home in Hertfordshire.
In a statement to The Guardian, a spokesperson for ICE said, “Bonuses for ICE officers are not based on arrest or detention numbers. Pay and bonuses for ICE officers are administered in accordance with office of personnel management policy. ICE officers risk their own safety day in and day out because they took an oath to enforce the nation’s immigration laws, not to make large sums of money.”
Warnings Against Visiting U.S. for FIFA World Cup
Karen warned that fans hoping to catch World Cup action in the U.S. could very well end up in trouble.
“I worry about young people going out there for the World Cup—I really do,” she told The Guardian. “I imagine a group of young guys getting drunk at a game, getting arrested. I could see them easily ending up in the same place as I did. They’d find some reason to detain them. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody.”
Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House task force on the World Cup, told British newspaper The Times in December that ICE operations at games had not been ruled out.
Mark Pieth, a Swiss criminal law expert and former FIFA attorney, last month urged fans to avoid attending matches in the U.S., telling the Swiss outlet Tages-Anzeiger: “For fans, there is only one piece of advice: stay away from the United States.”
That sentiment was seconded by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who posted to X last month: "'For the fans, there's only one piece of advice: stay away from the USA!' I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”
Last April, Britain issued a travel warning or the U.S., stating, “The authorities in the U.S. set and enforce entry rules strictly. You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”
Karen told The Guardian that she knew about the warning—she just didn’t think she would be affected.
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What People Are Saying
Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, wrote in a Newsweek op-ed: "When these millions arrive to cheer one of 48 country teams, they may find themselves interrogated, detained, or even denied visas for their social media posts."
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told Newsweek in November: “If statutes or visa terms are violated, travelers may be subject to detention and removal. A visa is a privilege, not a right, and only those who respect our laws and follow the proper procedures will be welcomed.”
Update 2/23/26 10:22am ET: This article was updated with clarifications.
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