Identity and Subjectivity in Detention

Recording by - Andrew Leith

When I visited LaSalle County Regional Detention Center in Encinal, Texas, I was taken by the stainless steel panel mirrors installed within every cell. These bleak objects, and the warped images they reflect, seemed to me an apt metaphor for the toll the process of detention has on a migrant's identity and wellbeing. I imagine myself looking into such a mirror, facing a distorted image I barely recognize.