“We must secure our borders,” so goes the refrain. But are we, as a nation, insecure? Are we afraid? Of children coming to us in need in the night Children afraid of the monsters they must fight.

“We must secure our borders;” care not of the crying child
With each chain, wire, drone and wall, we proclaim:
Let their journeys be longer; let them cross where waters are deep Where the tides are less forgiving, where the snakes watch while they sleep

We proclaim, let the children journey where the sun never relents Until they shiver, cry and finally dream.
And after their bottles are empty, let them break when they awake Next to the skeletons of their mates.

Let them give themselves to the coyote and the cartel
For who else can navigate the path through hell?!
Let them know the recurring torture of rape by the coyote’s paws With the knowledge there will be no justice under our laws.

Upon arriving at our door, may they be greeted by a uniform, bright orange, one size fits all.
And placed in four cold concrete walls
that will be their home for 2, 8, 10, 25 months, or more. Months, days hours, waiting, waiting, waiting …

For that amnesty, like back in 1986, the TPS, 245(i), the LIFE ACT of 2000, NACARA, HRIFA
but today these are like water in the desert. A false hope.

“We must secure our borders”; You know what?, I’m sick of our murderous laws
These are children, they are our children
And here, safe and free, is where they belong.

(Artist’s daughter, Micaela, 5, speaking) “Here is where they belong”

Text for performance, 2016

Website:
www.carolinamacwright.me

BIO:
Carolina Rubio MacWright was born in Bogota, Colombia, where she lived until age 20, when a need for a safer place to call home was necessary. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Fine Art. After graduation, she felt the need to understand the legal system, at which point she moved to Oklahoma City where she received her Juris Doctorate Degree. She interned at the Public Defenders Office, which opened her eyes to the realities of the broken American legal system as well as the immigration law system. She has consistently worked as an immigration attorney in Oklahoma, Florida and New York. She realized her artwork was a more effective medium in educating the public on issues like mass incarceration, detention centers, immigrant children’s rights, women’s rights. She is a full time artist and activist that can’t break away from law. She recently worked on a know your rights video (english and spanish), with the grassroots organization “Momsrising” “mamasconpoder”, she was part of a podcast about “risers” on “Breaking through with Kristin-Rowe-Finkbeiner.  She is also endlessly involved in her community and bringing it together to show up for those that might be invisible. She lives and works in New York.

Social Handles/SM:
follow me on insta and twitter:
@carustol

#artistmomlawyer #risers #gowanusartist

Pieces on VIMEO:
https://vimeo.com/178486718

Artist shows and news:
http://www.carolinamacwright.me/new-events/