I learned about ICE and its impact on families. It made me sad to see Mateo’s separation from his family. I enjoyed learning about this story through the comic book format. —Dima Ali

I think written journalism is putting the story together, so you don’t know how it’s going to seem when it ends, but when it’s finished and you actually read it all the way through, you could tell if it’s a good story or not. Mr. Sloan’s story is a good story because it’s put together and actually explains what’s happening. Mr. Sloan said his work comes easily because it is something he is passionate about doing. Hearing how passionate he is, gave me the thought to do hockey, which I have thought of doing, but want to actually try now. I also appreciated the realism of his work, how this is something that actually happens. It’s important to know what’s going on in the world. Mateo’s story stood out to me that it’s happening to him at such a young age. I think it was really cool to meet somebody who made a comic and I like how he considers helping people understand through the pictures instead of it just being a long article—Ryann Phelps

What happened to Mateo is happening to a lot of other people now. The comic book format is good because it explains it well with the images and how it was set up. Michael Sloan is also cool because he does a bunch of other stuff and he figured out how to manage his time. (Mr. Sloan shared that his favorite part of being a cartoonist was the freedom it allows in his schedule. “I like being the master of my own time,” he said. It’s also interesting that his friend Jake (Halpern) gets to go and interview the family but they don’t use real images or how they look or what their names are so they’re protected. I appreciated his answer to my question about how he came up with the Risk-O-Meter for his comic. Mr. Sloan said that “a lot of people responded to that.”—Rafi Conroe

Michael Sloan’s comic showed how ICE can impact people’s lives on a daily basis. For Mateo, if they catch him, it won’t be good. I liked the black and white art style. I enjoyed reading about the dad’s story because he had to run back and forth and traveled from New York to Honduras, and Brooklyn. I liked how realistic it is and that he’s aware of the problems of ICE.— Emmanuel Plascencia

This comic strip gives me a better perspective on a family’s experience with being undocumented and with the constant worry, especially now with the high risk of being deported. I think it shows the negativities of ICE and how it almost breaks families and decreases chances for these people coming to the U.S. for a better life. The article gave me the sense that the family never truly gets their moment to lay back and really work for building a better future because of how the family is consistently running away from these agents trying to take this opportunity away from them. Also, I found the illustrations give a very realistic, almost personal insight on the situation for undocumented families. I was curious about Michael Sloan’s interpretation of the characteristics of the family depending on the context he received from the story and how he visualized them and captured it perfectly. Mr. Sloan, the illustrator, described it as an “intuitive, conceptual process.” He also emphasizes how much Mateo stands out in the story. And I want to mention how creative the illustration is and how Mr. Sloan really took great advantage of his artistic freedom because I think it’s the best way to reach out to all age groups and especially younger groups to be aware and have a better view of the situation. —Marlin Rodriguez

These stories show the experience of a family that includes undocumented people and it creates awareness. It makes you feel the panic that people feel as undocumented immigrants in America and how they obviously don’t feel safe. They came here to feel safer and have a better life than they did where they lived before and they cannot because of ICE. It shows how they worry about being separated and taken from their families because of their different odds and classifications of their documentation in the USA. It shows how ICE can tear families apart and scare them so they feel they cannot have a better life here. When we talked to Michael Sloan, he told us that the escalation in ICE’s violence is part of the reason that he and his co-creator, Jake Halpern, have to hide the identity of the people the story is based on. The creativity and imagination they use really portrays all of these messages in a way where anyone, no matter their age or background, can empathize with and comprehend.—Nayala Conroe

The comic strip shows how the experience of living as an undocumented immigrant can be scary. It is hard for the family to have to move around and the drawings also show awareness about ICE and what is going on with ICE. It’s hard to run/hide from ICE especially when you are comfortable and happy with where you are. It can have a big toll on you, maybe your family and how you function in your household with the fear of always looking over your back can be hard and a struggle and with their kids it can be hard to do all of this moving around and teaching your kids to always check the locks. According to the illustrator Micheal Sloan, “The paths for the parents of these families are limited” and he shows this in the comic strip because the family is limited in places to go. It’s hard for them to find a safe place to live. It’s a very thoughtful way to put information together so that people can read it in one sitting and understand the impact of ICE on families, especially the fear of ICE one day taking you or a member of your family. —Summer Phelps

The comic strip shows how families are scared of being taken apart by ICE and how some families are being bothered or harassed by other people or ICE. It also shows first-hand-real-life experience of what it’s like to be an undocumented immigrant now. It also shows how scared families are about being an immigrant in the Americas. I also think it’s an effective comic strip that helps people understand how hard it is to be an immigrant in the US. The comic strip also shows how you can be creative and artistic in talking about how to tell and show how effective a true story problem can be. —Kendall Walker-Gurley

I think that it is really interesting how Michael Sloan talked about immigration. I liked how the story was told with the drawings to show how stuff happened. The coolest thing he talked about was how he talked about how he liked to be a cartoonist and how he likes to work by drawing pictures in immigration stories in the way of a graphic novel so that younger kids could understand in an easier way. He inspired me in a way to think more about what’s happening with ICE to other people, which made me want to be able to tell more people about what could be happening to other people in other places. — Nisha Singh Lemar

I thought Michael Sloan was cool because he used pencils to make cool drawings with different textures. I asked him what inspired him and he said it was students like us. I remember he said he wasn’t scared of ICE. I thought that everything he did was really inspiring. — Agnes Guajala

Michael Sloan loves his work so it makes it not hard for him to do. I thought he was going to say that it was really hard for him, so it surprised me that it wasn’t hard. He started in 1989 and it’s currently 2026, which means he has been doing this and these works for a really long time. He doesn’t use the computer much and uses his own thoughts and he draws everything by hand. Seeing the pen he used was very cool, it had a very weird texture and looked like a pen mixed with a paint brush. The pen never ran out. He isn’t scared of ICE and he said that if he had to put himself in a lot of danger so that his family would be safe he would put himself into that danger. I was very surprised with what he said. When I heard about him, I didn’t think he would talk about what he did. Overall, his discussion was really good! — Sammy Barsalou

My first impression of Michael Sloan was that he was a very impressive man. I was astounded by all of the awards he has won for his cartoons and how many different music albums he has produced. He has over 280 music albums! I think he is a very inspirational person, and I know he will inspire a lot of people. —Eliseo Plascencia

My name is Alya Mikkelson and I had the opportunity to interview Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Sloan, and I was amazed by his work and representation of a family that faces threats from I.C.E. The graphic novel form helps readers of all ages visualize the scenes and makes it more accessible. It was interesting to hear how easily it comes to him and all that he considers when making this art. It was also very clear how this situation is very prevalent in our community, and how raising awareness about it is likely one of the best ways to help tackle it. I thought it was very motivational to hear about his work, and I hope to be as productive as he is when I am an adult. —Alya Mikkelson

My name is Serelle and I think that it’s important what Michael Sloan is doing and raising awareness so that every one of all ages knows what is happening. This is especially because it is done in a comic format. As an artist myself (if I do say so myself), I was very inspired when I heard that he started at a young age like me. It was very motivating and moving, and I would love to help contribute raising awareness to the situation.  I hope that more people have the opportunity to read and see Michael Sloan’s comics.—Serelle Barsalou

The cartoon was impactful on multiple different levels. It showed us about ICE, the struggles of immigrants, and gave us insight into what people have to deal with every day. I feel grateful for not having to go through that. He obviously worked very hard on his research and based this off of people’s real experiences. His illustrations evoked anxiety and humanized the people in this story. It surprised me that he lives so close to the school. —Haven Hahn Ruth Pickett

My first impression of Michael Sloan is that he is very dedicated to his work and that he is a very impressive person. He’s won a ton of awards from his cartoon about ICE and the struggles of immigrants. He is very hard working and is very passionate about his work. —Aarav Singh Lemar

I thought it would be boring, but I learned something from it. I learned that the family’s real name wasn’t used because they were fearful of government reprisal. I was surprised that he made episodes about the story. I thought it was good that he made a story about immigration so that other people who didn’t know about it could learn.— Aveline Krayeske-Bermudez

I learned about how he makes the comics and the process behind it. It’s kind of crazy how when he was two, he could draw. My cousin is two, and he can’t draw! It surprised me how many steps he goes through to get to the finished product. — Charlay Caple

After reading the story, I feel like ICE is starting to make other countries hate the US because of the way they are treating human beings. I feel like ICE could do really unfair things to people who are really innocent. These people are and should be allowed to be in this country, and they are being rejected and send back to their home country which is very unsafe. I learned from Michael Sloan about how people worked as a team when writing and drawing the story. I realized that he likes to use a more original style in his artwork and story. I am surprised that they did so well hiding all the information about the family and respecting their privacy. And the fact that he added so many good details about what happened, bringing life to the story .— Jason Lin

My reaction to the story is that if they wanted a safer life why did they move to the Bronx? I mean is the Bronx really that safe? They moved for a safer life but just moved to another dangerous place. I think this because you can’t call the cops on a gang because they will just get a replacement member but you also can’t call the cops on ICE because they are the cops. I say that gangs are more dangerous because they don’t have regulations. After the presentation and meeting Michael Sloan, I appreciate his work more because I can see his thought process. I liked the part where he talked about making the main character Mateo stand out by giving him curly hair and a striped shirt. I also like the Risk-O-Meter because it makes his work more like a classic comic.  I like that his cartoons and his designs are still telling a story even though it is not like other authors that make regular books. I like the visions and I like that you can SEE the story and the actions. You can’t do that when reading a book or a regular story. —Van Smith

So, I think that ICE was scary to people. A lot of police come out of SUV’s and catch the person, research them, their passport and green card or visa.  They could take you to a detention center. I think it was interesting, that talk about ICE. —Ziwen Ye

I feel scared and nervous after reading that story because what if that family was my family? Then I would be very scared and I might have to go to a Detention Center which is basically like prison. I would love to go back to China but having ICE chasing us at the same time makes it scary. For other kids they might fall back in their education and physical education. I thought it was really cool how Michael Sloan told us that the deportation story was about a real family. I also think that it’s cool that he told us that 90 percent of people are using screens to read The New York Times and only 10 percent of people use newspapers in print. —Weiyue Zhong

My reaction is that the story is that the story is about a real-life family and I was surprised that this is based on a real family!!!! —Ouji Dubee

I thought that this was a bit too intense for kids, but I get why Michael Sloan wrote about this topic. Immigration is too much for kids because some kids don’t understand it. But he did a good job of putting it in comic book form. —Aveline Krayeske Bermudez

The story is not the scariest but it is pretty scary. I didn’t realize there would be pictures and it gave me a good understanding. Usually when I read books it’s hard to visualize it. Why do they have to leave America if they didn’t do anything wrong? Why does Mateo the main character have to be 18 to tell about what he’s been through? Over all, it is a awesome story.—Sammy Barsalou

I felt while listening to Michael Sloan that I was really in the moment because he was constantly answering questions with a lot of depth. I also appreciate how he explained further the background details surrounding the comic. I really enjoyed his drawings because he put a lot of detail in it and made it clear how the series could look like in real life. Michael Sloan was also explaining his ideas like a professional. — Raina Bellamy