Comic Artist R.E. Burke Grifts $12,000 Off GoFundMe After Being Detained For Breaking U.S. Immigration Laws
Cartoonist R.E. Burke learned quickly not to mess with the U.S. Immigration system as she tried to work her way across the United States for several months on a tourist visa, something not allowed. She’s been held now in an I.C.E. detention facility for eighteen days, and leftist comic creators are trying to blame Trump for her bad decisions. It proves a profitable endeavor for a starving comic artist who has now made more than $12,000 off of a GoFundMe because of her playing with U.S. Immigration laws.
The United States immigration system had very few rules that were actually enforced prior to Donald Trump taking office. Between illegal entries and overstayed visas, there are an estimated millions of people inside the United States illegally. We don’t know the background of many of these people, but we do know the situation behind R.E. Burke.
Burke is a comic book creator and cartoonist from Wales who seems to have very little following, and she probably does not make much of a living from her work. Five weeks ago, she posted to Instagram that she was “getting to know myself better with solo traveling,” along with a video montage of her backpacking across the United States for several months.
Visitor visas last for 90 days or less at a time, according to the U.S. Department of State website under the Visa Waiver Program, which means that Burke, with her four-month plans, was already attempting to overstay her welcome.
Moreover, since she wasn’t able to afford to stay, she arranged to work for families in exchange for lodging as she traveled across the United States, meaning she wasn’t here as a tourist, but here as a laborer and needed a work visa, which she failed to apply for.
The situation came to a head when Burke attempted to cross the border to Canada, where Canadian authorities refused to give her entry because of her lack of visa for Canada, at which point she was turned back to the United States, and upon review of her documentation, I.C.E. held her as an illegal alien.
Burke was moved to a detention facility over the last eighteen days, and even though this all appears due to her own negligence and willful attempts to skirt American and Canadian laws, the family and the comic book industry are trying to turn her into a martyr.
She’s been held for eighteen days and launched a GoFundMe to pay for travel back home, which begs the question of whether she ever intended on leaving the United States to begin with or if she was planning on staying permanently as an illegal alien since she apparently didn’t plan to pay for a return flight home ahead of time. So far, she’s raised over $12,000 on GoFundMe, far more than is needed for a flight back to the United Kingdom.
The family has been playing it up on BlueSky, posting about her being sick with a sore throat, fearmongering about COVID and “frequent 30 second coughing fits,” to try to garner sympathy for the artist.
However, at this point, Burke is being held in a detention facility and needs a judge to sign off on an order to have her willful departure from the United States. Judges are backed up right now because more approvals are needed from Congress to get vacated seats filled, which means Burke will have to be patient after her violation of U.S. laws.
Her BlueSky also mentions that she plans on releasing a book to tell her story to further grift off of her own legal blundering. Meanwhile, the press is gleefully covering her situation and trying to make it out like she somehow is a victim in her violation of U.S. laws, though it appears she deserves to be detained. Hopefully, her situation is a deterrent for others attempting to skirt U.S. Immigration laws.
What do you think of R.E. Burke being held for 18 days by I.C.E.? Leave a comment and let us know.
Do you love sci-fi and comics? Support an alternative to mainstream publishing. Sign up for the Jon Del Arroz newsletter and get THREE FREE BOOKS and stay up to date on deals and new releases from an author doing the good work.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
I mean, if *Canada* won't take her, are we sure Wales will?