Stockton artist paints immigration trauma
STOCKTON, Calif. - From Sinaloa, Mexico, to Stockton, California, artist Saúl Cruz paints what many prefer not to see.
His latest work captures a searing image that has gone viral on social media: You can see an ICE agent pressing an indigenous woman to the ground, her face marked with anguish, as she wears her traditional dress, bursting with color against a backdrop of flowers.
Cruz said he hopes his work highlights that behind every arrest is not only a statistic, but also a story.
"The flower represents the fallen dreams, people feel connected because they feel my feelings," he said in an interview. "It's not only about the borders, it's about the humanity, you know, the feelings."
For him, Cruz said, art is not just expression — it is testimony, with brushstrokes that carry both pain and defiance.
In this juxtaposition of beauty and brutality, Cruz said he focused on exposing the harsh reality of what immigrant communities are enduring, as immigration operations escalate across the country.
He joins a growing chorus of Mexican and immigrant artists who are using their craft to shine a light on the human toll of detention, deportation, and displacement.
"We don't need to live this moment with hate," he said.