A one-day “ICE Resistance Art Exhibition” and reception at Soft Machine Gallery, 105 Ridge Avenue, Allentown, was held to call attention to the Trump Administration’s deportation policies and a Lehigh Valley-based nonprofit organization’s efforts to assist those targeted.

MIRA Resources was founded in 2020 for “Equipping Migrant, Immigrant, Refugee and Asylee families with equitable resources to succeed,” according to its mission statement, as well as for “Bringing together different cultures in the community.” An asylee is an asylum seeker.

Says Clarice James, executive director and founder of MIRA Resources, at the Sept. 12 reception at the Soft Machine Gallery: Initially, the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) focused on those who were in the U.S. illegally and had criminal backgrounds like “human trafficking, labor trafficking, drug trafficking … severe cases like that ... keeping our country safe from folks like that.”

“In the most recent years, it has become more focused on just everyday, regular people who are just going to work, following what they are supposed to do, doing the process correctly. It’s focused on those people in masses,” James says.

With a background in social work and as an educator teaching English as a Second Language, in addition to her Colombian-born parents’ experiences with emigrating to the U.S., James saw a need for the kinds of services MIRA provides.

The services include immigration consultations, pro-bono legal services, adult basic English courses, referrals to legal assistance, medical and mental health needs, employment options, housing, food and clothing banks and financial literacy.

Training sessions are available on a variety of subjects from “Equity As it Relates to Immigration” to “How To Support Our Community During Immigration Crisis.”

A volunteer herself, James oversees a staff of 18 volunteers. These include case managers, employment specialists, ESL teachers and interns.

The nonprofit MIRA Resources held the “ICE Resistance Art Exhibition,” which explored migration, identity, justice and resilience through visual art, video, poetry and music.

The exhibit’s centerpiece, “E Pluribus Unum - Minneapolis” (2026; oil on canvas, 48 in. x 60 in.) by David Sommers was painted in response to “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota by ICE. Sommers says he was inspired by the residents who stood up to protect their neighbors.

In addition to Sommers, participating “ICE Resistance Art Exhibition” artists included Jerry Richard Steward, Leona D’Cameron, Angélica Sarabia, Katie Hovencamp, Lisa Stefanelli, Kathryn Morgan, Francisco Aguilar, Kat Collins, Anaiyah Rivera, Leslie Medina, Genesis Rodriguez and Liliana Arias Hallman.

MIRA Resources management and staff work remotely, including James from her home office in Hanover Township. They serve clients in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Information: www.themiraresources.org

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com