ROUBAIX, France (AP) \u2014 As statements go, it\u2019s a big one.<\/p>\n
A towering mural in France of the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes is racking up millions of views online with its swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> \u2018s immigration and deportation<\/a> policies.<\/p>\n Amsterdam-based street artist Judith de Leeuw described her giant work in the northern French town of Roubaix, which has a large immigrant community, as \u201ca quiet reminder of what freedom should be.\u201d <\/p>\n She said \u201cfreedom feels out of reach\u201d for migrants and \u201cthose pushed to the margins, silenced, or unseen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI painted her covering her eyes because the weight of the world has become too heavy to witness. What was once a shining symbol of liberty now carries the sorrow of lost meaning,\u201d de Leeuw wrote in a July 4 post on Facebook, when Americans were celebrating Independence Day.<\/a><\/p>\n Her depiction of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French people<\/a> in the late 1800s, has inspired some sharp criticism.<\/p>\n Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican lawmaker from Tennessee, wrote in an angry post on X<\/a> that the work \u201cdisgusts me.\u201d He said he had an uncle who fought and died in France, where U.S. forces saw combat in both World War I and World War II.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Associated Press, de Leeuw was unapologetic.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not offended to be hated by the Donald Trump movement. I am not sorry. This is the right thing to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The town stood by the work, with its deputy mayor in charge of cultural affairs, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Lefebvre, telling broadcaster France 3 that \u201cit\u2019s a very strong and powerful political message.\u201d<\/p>\n Since returning to the White House amid anti-immigration sentiment, Trump<\/a> has launched an unprecedented campaign that has pushed the limits of executive power<\/a> and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him<\/a>. People from various countries have been deported to remote and unrelated places like South Sudan and the small African nation<\/a> of Eswatini<\/a>.<\/p>\n