A freelance journalist from the UK flies to Los Angeles to do an article for the Guardian, and ends up with a very different story when she is imprisoned for 26 hours and deported for not having a little-known journalist visa.

The idea of deporting someone for not having the proper paperwork is annoying, though not reprehensible, but her experiences of being treated like a criminal are terribly worrisome. Is this the cost of promoting democracy around the world? What happens when immigration officials tag webloggers as de-facto journalists?