California’s largest public agency is systematically using public resources to profile immigrants and refugees, betray that state’s commitments to rehabilitation and homecoming and rip apart countless families because of where they’re from or what they look like.

This comic project, Broken Stems, is a story about how California prisons tear apart families by voluntarily colluding with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Asian Law Caucus and illustrator Laura Gao tell this story through the voice of Vyseth, a California immigrant who grew up with his family in Long Beach.

While Vyseth is fictional, his story is based on the experiences of California immigrants and refugees. It shows a small glimpse of how the threat of deportation painfully jeopardizes ties to their families and communities. For many incarcerated community members and their families, the financial and structural obstacles of the prison system strain relationships with loved ones. Being flagged for deportation by our state prison officials is yet another blow. These experiences — of families being torn apart — are why immigrant communities are leading a statewide movement for equality and belonging.