Union Square Caged Mannequins Protest Trump Immigration Policies

GRAMERCY, NY — A pair of caged mannequins are coming to Union Square Thursday in protest of zero-tolerance immigration policies that separated families at the U.S.-Mexico border, the artist behind the installation said.

“It’s this horrific policy that motivated me," said Marilyn Miller, 75, a sculptor living in Cortlandt Manor in Westchester.

“I dreamed about it and I woke up imagining being in a cage and my children being in a deportation center. I said to myself, ‘I got to do this.' I told my husband, 'I have to make a cage.’”

The art piece, titled "Immigration Reform," is Miller's first foray into political art with two mannequins separated inside the 8-by-6-by-4-foot steel cage reaching for each other.

One model represents a mother wearing a T-shirt with "They took my child!" printed across the chest and "Where is my child?" on the back. On the other side of the cage is another mannequin portraying the daughter with a shirt that says "Mommy, where are you?" and "I want my mommy!"

Strewn around the pair are backpacks and water bottles, representative of the few belongings immigrants have when they arrive at the border.

"It's an expression of the mother's pain," said Miller, a retired teacher and photography entrepreneur. "They’re reaching for each other but they can't be together. Even now they still can't be together."

At least 2,342 children were separated from their parents between May 5 and June 9 as a result of President Trump's immigration policy. He has since signed an order to stop the separations, according to Border Patrol data.

Pressured by a court order, officials are working overtime to reunite children with their parents. A federal judge ordered the administration to reconnect children under 5-years-old with their parents by July 10 – a deadline the government missed – and all remaining children by July 26. Miller is not optimistic that the administration will meet the second deadline.

"Once this hit the news it just hit my heart that this is inhumane, and even though the separations have stopped, families are still apart and could be for a long time," said Miller. "It's not a healthy policy and I hope this helps convince people."

She plans to unveil the installation on Thursday without a city permit in Union Square — near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at 14th Street — where she will remain with it from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., handing out flyers with elected officials' contact information and encouraging passers-by to share their thoughts in the form of notes tied to the cage.

"I'm a humanist. I don't have all the answers," said Miller. "But if I can convince one person to write to their congressperson or their senator about how they feel about what's going on in this country, I'll feel like I've done something."

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Miller