A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, in Roubaix, northern France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, in Roubaix, northern France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of the Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, Monday, July 7, 2025 in Roubaix, northern France. (@jdlstreetart /Judith de Leeuw via AP)
A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, in Roubaix, northern France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, in Roubaix, northern France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
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A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, in Roubaix, northern France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
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Dutch Artist Judith de Leeuw poses in her apartment in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahmad Seir)
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A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of the Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, Monday, July 7, 2025 in Roubaix, northern France. (@jdlstreetart /Judith de Leeuw via AP)
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A mural by Dutch artist Judith de Leeuw shows the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes with her hands, in Roubaix, northern France, Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sylvain Plazy)
ROUBAIX, France (AP) — As statements go, it's a big one.
A towering mural in France of the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes is racking up millions of views online with its swipe at 's immigration and policies.
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 “a quiet reminder of what freedom should be.”
She said “freedom feels out of reach” for migrants and “those pushed to the margins, silenced, or unseen.”
“I 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,” de Leeuw wrote in a July 4 post on Facebook, when Americans were celebrating
Her depiction of the Statue of Liberty, in the late 1800s, has inspired some sharp criticism.
Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican lawmaker from Tennessee, wrote in that the work “disgusts me.” 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.
In an interview with The Associated Press, de Leeuw was unapologetic.
“I’m not offended to be hated by the Donald Trump movement. I am not sorry. This is the right thing to do," she said.
The town stood by the work, with its deputy mayor in charge of cultural affairs, Frédéric Lefebvre, telling broadcaster France 3 that “it's a very strong and powerful political message.”
Since returning to the White House amid anti-immigration sentiment, has launched an unprecedented campaign that has and . People from various countries have been deported to remote and unrelated places like South Sudan and of .
Polling by Gallup showed an increasing number of Americans who said immigration is a “good thing” and decreasing support for the type of mass deportations Trump has championed since before he was elected.
The mural in Roubaix is part of an urban street culture festival backed by the town. Roubaix is one of the poorest towns in France. It was economically devastated by the collapse since the 1970s of its once-flourishing textile industry that used to attract migrant workers from elsewhere in Europe, north Africa and beyond.
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Associated Press journalists Ahmad Seir in Amsterdam and John Leicester in Paris contributed.
