Restore the Night Sky

[douglas9]

Long-exposure images reveal the light pollution created by ICE detention centers in rural America.

Project: Restore the Night Sky

Artist: Marni Shindelman

Description: At night, a discernible line emerges across the landscape of many rural towns. Imperceptible to the naked eye, it is clearly apparent through the long exposure of a camera. It is the high-powered LED lighting illuminating the nation’s forty-five privatized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers located throughout the rural landscape of the United States.

In La Estancia, New Mexico, this illumination extends nearly ten miles across the desert, while in Folkston, Georgia, it reaches only a half mile into the Okefenokee Swamp, blocked by the dense pine trees and vegetation. The advent of these LED lights coincides with the construction and expansion of these detention centers over the past fifteen years, highlighting a concerning trend. Entire communities have experienced revitalization driven by the economic activities associated with detaining individuals seeking political asylum. This phenomenon has engendered a twisted economic boom characterized by promises of job creation and enhanced infrastructure in these otherwise marginalized towns. The remote positioning of these facilities serves to obscure their existence in plain sight, raising deep ethical and legal concerns. It is critical to emphasize that the incarceration of these individuals is neither mandated by US policy nor international law.

https://oxfordamerican.org/eyes/restore-the-night-sky