TITLE: If Walls Could Speak | Asylum Seekers

IF WALLS COULD SPEAK is a glimpse into the besieged hopes, harsh uncertainties, and blunt realities—but also the enduring dignity—of Central American asylum-seekers forced into a cruel and dangerous waiting game by the "Remain in Mexico" policy. The individuals and families in these photographs have experienced unthinkable traumas and faced impossible decisions. I hope that viewers here in the United States can begin to understand the odysseys many have undertaken to provide a brighter future for themselves and their children – only to be mistreated and sent back across the border to one of the most dangerous cities in North America to be a refugee.

I shot many of the portraits in this series while visiting Casa del Migrante, a Catholic-run migrant shelter in Juárez Mexico. Nestled along a dusty dead-end street deep within the sprawl of Juárez, the Casa provides food, shelter, healthcare, and other services. The scenes within—of friends chatting, kids laughing, and three meals a day—stand in stark contrast with life for many migrants outside the shelter’s gates, where death may very well be the least of their worries. Rape, kidnapping, and extortion of vulnerable refugees are daily occurrences in Juárez. The Casa houses approximately 400 asylum-seekers, most of whom were deported when the United States' "Remain in Mexico" policy took effect in January of 2019; they represent a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the ruling. The appearance of calm inside the shelter belies a deep sense of anxiety and fear; asylum-seekers are stranded in limbo, waiting for their turn to ask, again, for refuge in the United States.

IF WALLS COULD SPEAK is my way of showing what hope, and the loss of it, looks like for the asylum-seekers of our era. The stories on these walls are heartbreaking.

AUTHOR: Ada Trillo (United States)

Ada Trillo is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in Philadelphia. Having grown-up in Juarez, Mexico, she is deeply troubled by the social problems affecting women of the border towns. Trillo’s current work is a photo documentary exposé of low-cost sex workers in Mexico. The series includes a collection of photos taken in the brothels there, deglamorizing prostitution and showing the dehumanizing conditions of their work.

Trillo’s photographs have been featured in The Huffington Post, CBS Philly, Al Dia News, and Telemundo 51 - recently, they have been included in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's permanent collection and selected Best Series in the Black and White International Awards. She studied in Italy and Philadelphia, and her work has been shown in solo, two-person, and group exhibitions. Trillo speaks at conferences and universities, regarding women’s issues and human trafficking. Her work is represented by Racso Fine Arts and Twenty-Two Gallery.