Williams, Jessica

Jessica Williams
Austin, TX

I worked as a Spanish interpreter at a health clinic for migrant farm workers for three summers in rural Illinois. I listened to the stories my clients shared about how and why they crossed the border. I heard women talk about walking through the desert for days with their young children and men who left their families behind, all in the hopes of finding a better life. Human beings deserve that opportunity, no matter where they are born. Walls are barbaric, walls are inhumane, walls stop progress, walls discriminate, walls mar landscapes, and, ultimately, walls fail. I hope this wall fails before it is even built.