CARAVANAS DEL DIABLO
September 16, 2021–January 30, 2022
In January of 2020, fleeing violence and poor economic conditions, Hondurans organized a massive migrant caravan that traveled through Guatemala into Mexico. After traveling for 8 days the caravan crossed the Suchiate River into Mexico and were met by the recently established Guardia Nacional comprised of former Federal, Military and Naval Police.
Mexican President, Andrés Manual López Obrador has historically called for safe passage for migrants, but when US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs, Mexico reversed its policy and deployed soldiers to keep Central American migrants from entering Mexico.
Migrants attempting to enter Mexico split into two major groups. The largest group crossed the Suchiate River and were tear gassed by the Guardia Nacional. Forced to retreat, they waited by the river's edge for two days. Their second attempt across the river (at 4:00 in the morning) was a success but it was only hours later that the Guardia Nacional surrounded them, put them on busses and sent them back to Honduras.
The smaller group amassed in the border town of El Ceibo in Guatemala and were met by the head of foreign relations in Mexico. He welcomed migrants in groups of 10 to enter Mexico and seek asylum. Migrants were briefly kept in detention centers, and against the head of foreign relation’s word, they were deported back to Honduras without being given the opportunity to seek asylum.
For many asylum seekers, deportation will result in living a life of extortion, impoverishment and even death.
-Ada Trillo, photojournalist
Mexican President, Andrés Manual López Obrador has historically called for safe passage for migrants, but when US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs, Mexico reversed its policy and deployed soldiers to keep Central American migrants from entering Mexico.
Migrants attempting to enter Mexico split into two major groups. The largest group crossed the Suchiate River and were tear gassed by the Guardia Nacional. Forced to retreat, they waited by the river's edge for two days. Their second attempt across the river (at 4:00 in the morning) was a success but it was only hours later that the Guardia Nacional surrounded them, put them on busses and sent them back to Honduras.
The smaller group amassed in the border town of El Ceibo in Guatemala and were met by the head of foreign relations in Mexico. He welcomed migrants in groups of 10 to enter Mexico and seek asylum. Migrants were briefly kept in detention centers, and against the head of foreign relation’s word, they were deported back to Honduras without being given the opportunity to seek asylum.
For many asylum seekers, deportation will result in living a life of extortion, impoverishment and even death.
-Ada Trillo, photojournalist
DEPORTED VETERANS
February 10–May 30, 2022
Foreign-born soldiers have served the United States since the Revolutionary War. The French Marquis de Lafayette, the German Friedrich von Steuben, and the West Indian Alexander Hamilton are just three examples of foreign-born soldiers who fought in George Washington’s Continental Army.
Today, the country has approximately 700,000 foreign-born veterans, 45,000 active members, and each year, 5,000 new immigrants join the military. As of 2018, 17 percent of those foreign-born veterans have not been naturalized.
These soldiers’ dedication to their country matches or surpasses the commitment of the native-born. Their honorable service, however, has been rewarded with dishonorable actions—denial of citizenship, unceremonious deportation, and hardships faced by the veterans and their families.
This exhibition seeks to create a visual space in which some of these deported veterans not only recover their denied citizenship but also expose the damage inflicted on them by unjust government policies. From Mexico to the Dominican Republic to England to Costa Rica, veterans proudly display the objects that confirm their American citizenship, from their uniform and flag to baseball and apple pie. They want to remind us that their struggle to gain citizen status is a struggle for social justice.
Today, the country has approximately 700,000 foreign-born veterans, 45,000 active members, and each year, 5,000 new immigrants join the military. As of 2018, 17 percent of those foreign-born veterans have not been naturalized.
These soldiers’ dedication to their country matches or surpasses the commitment of the native-born. Their honorable service, however, has been rewarded with dishonorable actions—denial of citizenship, unceremonious deportation, and hardships faced by the veterans and their families.
This exhibition seeks to create a visual space in which some of these deported veterans not only recover their denied citizenship but also expose the damage inflicted on them by unjust government policies. From Mexico to the Dominican Republic to England to Costa Rica, veterans proudly display the objects that confirm their American citizenship, from their uniform and flag to baseball and apple pie. They want to remind us that their struggle to gain citizen status is a struggle for social justice.