The Wall — Michael Ryan

In a not too distant future, an Executive Order will begin the construction of a forty foot concrete wall between the United States and Mexico. To build the wall, “tiny hands” will use Worker Re-Education Centers, or WRECs, filled with illegal immigrants detained by the local authorities with the aid of ‘papers Please' laws. The centers are advertised as an opportunity for thousands to learn English, gain work experience, and earn their American Citizenship while contributing to the protection and safety of America. In fact, many immigrants choose to work on Drumpf Wall in an attempt to fast-track their citizenship and start a new legal life with some cash in the bank. President Drumpf even promised Mexico a cut off the bill that they still refuse to pay. A win-win for everyone, right? Everyone, that is, except for Laz and Tilly Martinez-Baak, and countless couples like them. Upstanding members of their Tucson community, both Laz and Tilly are inseparable until they fall victim to the prejudiced laws of the land. On the way to teach his high school band class, Laz, a Mexican-American citizen, is arrested without identification and transported to a WREC outside of Naco, Arizona. Meanwhile, his wife returns home from an opening ceremony for the Nogales Liberty Gateway to discover her mate missing; only a cold pizza and wallet remain in her husband's place. Can she use her celebrity as a local news reporter to get to the bottom of the story? Life's abrupt redirection forces the severed lovers to utilize every resource at their disposal in a death-defying struggle against inhumanity and the forces that govern it. Will they be able to overcome the powers obstructing their union and conquer the atrocities awaiting them at the Wall?