A new mural unveiled in Roubaix, France, has gone viral for its symbolic criticism of recent U.S. immigration policies.
Titled “The Statue of Liberty’s Silent Protest,” the artwork shows Lady Liberty with her face in her hands and her torch resting on her chest.
Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw painted the mural in six days. She said the Roubaix location was chosen due to its large migrant population living in “extremely difficult circumstances.” “The values that the statue once stood for — freedom, hope, the right to be yourself — have been lost for many,” she told Storyful.
Unveiled just before U.S. Independence Day, De Leeuw called the timing a “meaningful coincidence.” France originally gifted the statue to the U.S. on July 4, 1884.
Online, one user wrote, “In case you are wondering what the world is thinking of us.” Another added, “They should come take the real one back. We don’t deserve her anymore.”