The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist. -- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism.
These photographs are a partial document of my travels along the US/Mexico border in 2018 and my work within activist communities in New York City, up to the present day. Immigration is a defining policy and humanitarian crisis in the United States. It is also a point of inflection, in the public resistance to the administration. Migrants and refugees, and the entire country -- citizens and non-citizens alike -- continue to suffer rhetorical and physical violence, daily. Racist Tweets, unjust imprisonment, threatened and actual raids, family separations, deportations, the destruction of young lives, for-profit, de facto concentration camps, and vast enforcement agencies that systemically dehumanize and brutalize the innocent give lie to the idea that this is a "land of the free." State violence directed against immigrants and minorities terrorizes their communities and corrupts citizens into becoming supporters and perpetrators of violence. Meanwhile, our government strips the indigent and desperate, the hardworking, the old and young, and, above all, the brave people who have sacrificed and endured dangerous journeys in order to seek safety and peace of their dignity, their voices, and even their lives, in our names.
The border zone is beautiful. Diverse in culture and environment, it is as fragile as it is vast and dangerous. The vistas are often breathtaking. So are the cruelties, falsehoods, and ugliness of a police state in-the-making. A photograph is both a document and an interpretation of fact, but the goal of reportage is interpretation through the lens of cultural and political realities. Violence against people and nature is apparent and obvious, from border walls to concentration camps. Beauty is also apparent and obvious, in nature and in organizations dedicated to speaking the truth and demanding justice. It is up to individuals to see injustice, build empathy and solidarity, and create a path to liberty.
To learn more and to support this important work, please visit:
These photographs are a partial document of my travels along the US/Mexico border in 2018 and my work within activist communities in New York City, up to the present day. Immigration is a defining policy and humanitarian crisis in the United States. It is also a point of inflection, in the public resistance to the administration. Migrants and refugees, and the entire country -- citizens and non-citizens alike -- continue to suffer rhetorical and physical violence, daily. Racist Tweets, unjust imprisonment, threatened and actual raids, family separations, deportations, the destruction of young lives, for-profit, de facto concentration camps, and vast enforcement agencies that systemically dehumanize and brutalize the innocent give lie to the idea that this is a "land of the free." State violence directed against immigrants and minorities terrorizes their communities and corrupts citizens into becoming supporters and perpetrators of violence. Meanwhile, our government strips the indigent and desperate, the hardworking, the old and young, and, above all, the brave people who have sacrificed and endured dangerous journeys in order to seek safety and peace of their dignity, their voices, and even their lives, in our names.
The border zone is beautiful. Diverse in culture and environment, it is as fragile as it is vast and dangerous. The vistas are often breathtaking. So are the cruelties, falsehoods, and ugliness of a police state in-the-making. A photograph is both a document and an interpretation of fact, but the goal of reportage is interpretation through the lens of cultural and political realities. Violence against people and nature is apparent and obvious, from border walls to concentration camps. Beauty is also apparent and obvious, in nature and in organizations dedicated to speaking the truth and demanding justice. It is up to individuals to see injustice, build empathy and solidarity, and create a path to liberty.
To learn more and to support this important work, please visit:
- Immigrant Families Together
- New Sanctuary Coalition
- R.A.I.C.E.S. — the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services
- Annunciation House
- Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center