Left Hand Lettering

I’m more of a painter than an artist. I don’t naturally translate my grief or rage into beautiful art. But for many years, I’ve felt the need to use this platform, however insignificant, to stand firmly on the side of justice. I’ve had a stack of partially finished paintings that have been sitting in my drawer, trying to express my anger on the page. It hasn’t really worked sufficiently. But I sat down and wrote out the names of each (known) person who as either died in ICE detention since 2025 or has been directly confirmed to be murdered by ICE agents (in red).

I am not saying that every single one of these people would be alive if they hadn’t been detained. I don’t know that. But what I do hope is that we can all look at this list of human beings and think critically. We have seen what they do to US citizens on video. What do they do to immigrants when the cameras aren’t there? How many of these natural deaths or “suicides” might have been something else entirely? How many more can be attributed to the squalor they’re living in in detention? How many people suffered more than necessary due to lack of proper medical care? How many more do we not even know about because no one is able to tell us what they saw?

The number of deaths in ICE detention in 2025 was the most seen since 2004. More than the previous 4 years combined. And 2026 is already on track for even more death. Think critically. We have seen with our own eyes that DHS will lie and entirely fabricate a story to justify murder. Just as we know police all over the country have lied about the deaths of many Black Americans years after year. We know the pattern. We know they lie. So do you think it’s isolated? What is happening to those whose stories can’t be told?

The last watercolor piece I donated was not new. I hung on to this for a long time because I loved it. But it also sat in a notebook full of old scraps for years, so I guess I didn’t love it enough. Anyway, Santorini is maybe the most beautiful place I’ve been, certainly the top 3. I actually liked Imerovigli even more than Oía but can’t miss painting this iconic landscape. I watched someone buy it yesterday and was a little sad because it looked so pretty once I framed it. But I’m glad it found a home outside of the notebook in my storage bin.