Protesters use skywriting in cities nationwide to call to ‘defund’ ICE

A group of artists used skywriting in 80 locations nationwide to bring attention to the immigration crisis in the U.S. on Independence Day. 

The signs flew over immigration detention facilities, jails, courts and on the U.S./Mexico border. They said slogans like “Care, not cages” and “Defund ICE,” referring to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The signs are flying from Friday to Sunday. 

This Independence Weekend, 80 Artists Will Protest Immigrant Incarceration In Nationwide Skywriting Campaign: The artist roster includes Hank Willis Thomas, Zackary Drucker, Julieta Venegas, and Titus Kaphur. https://t.co/bmGgIUBAaD pic.twitter.com/PmmV8Cub2A

— Kita Mostert (@kita_mostert) July 3, 2020

Read how 80 artists are protesting immigrant incarceration in nationwide skywriting campaign this Independence Weekend here: https://t.co/ZqRqsN96Ze

[An AR rendering of “NO MORE CAMPS” over Santa Anita Assembly Center in California by curator & writer Karen Ishizuka ] pic.twitter.com/RS9EqwGlOL

— 18th Street Arts Center (@18thStreetArts) July 4, 2020

Care not cages #XMAP skywriting. pic.twitter.com/UVslxpM1gw

— Marc (@mcas_LA) July 3, 2020

The performance artist who organized the skywriting and goes by the name Cassils told NPR that they were appalled to learn there are so many detention centers in the country after immigrating from Canada.

Detention centers in the U.S. are predominantly filled with asylum seekers from Central America, many of them unaccompanied minors. They are kept in detention facilities while their cases are being processed. 

“We hear about these detention centers as being located amongst the southern border,” Cassils said, adding that others are located in less assuming places “like near an IKEA in Brooklyn.”

For the project titled “In Plain Sight,” Cassils worked with a fellow performance artist, Rafa Esparza, who told NPR the messages written on the signs are “messages that are coming from frustration, messages that are making demands.”