honorable mention
Joel Dyer united states
title
(untitled)
There were 36 people in public sanctuary in 22 states and another dozen or so in non-public sanctuary when I launched the project. I am now more than halfway to my goal of photographing everyone in the nation who is in sanctuary.
As part of this project I am creating portraits of each person now in sanctuary using only natural light. It is my belief that while it is far too easy too ignore statistics — such as there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. currently living in fear of deportation and being separated from their loved ones — it is much more difficult to look our fellow human beings in the eye and not care about their plight. At least that is my hope and motivation.
My work has appeared in New York Times Sunday Magazine, Vanity Fair, U.S. News & World Report, Mother Jones, Utne Reader and numerous other publications.
My original reporting has put me in front of the camera on such programs as Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox News, 48 Hours, Nightline, ABC/NBC/CBS Nightly News, and The Editors.
I have won numerous national and regional journalism awards.
I've had the following books published:
Harvest of Rage: Why Oklahoma City is Only the Beginning
1998, published by Westview Press
Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime
2000, published by Westview Press
Books endorsers include Filmmaker Michael Moore, Historian Howard Zinn and best-selling authors Jim Hightower and Mark Dowie.
I've been a working photojournalist since 1985.
In 2018 I launched my Windows Walls and Invisible Lines: Portraits of Life in Sanctuary project. I’m currently traveling throughout the nation photographing and interviewing undocumented immigrants who have been forced to take sanctuary in churches to avoid deportation back to their countries of origin. For many of these people, such an outcome would force them to decide between giving up their small children or taking them back to a world of poverty and violence. In addition, many now in sanctuary have been marked for death by gangs should they ever be deported.
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entry description
I began my Windows Walls and Invisible Lines: Portraits of Life in Sanctuary project in early 2018. I’m currently traveling throughout the U.S. photographing and interviewing undocumented immigrants who have been forced to take sanctuary in churches to avoid deportation back to their countries of origin by the Trump administration. For many of these people, deportation would force them to decide between giving up their small children or taking them back to a world of poverty and violence. In addition, many now in sanctuary have been marked for death by gangs should they ever be deported.There were 36 people in public sanctuary in 22 states and another dozen or so in non-public sanctuary when I launched the project. I am now more than halfway to my goal of photographing everyone in the nation who is in sanctuary.
As part of this project I am creating portraits of each person now in sanctuary using only natural light. It is my belief that while it is far too easy too ignore statistics — such as there are 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. currently living in fear of deportation and being separated from their loved ones — it is much more difficult to look our fellow human beings in the eye and not care about their plight. At least that is my hope and motivation.
about the photographer
The following are a few of my career highlights to date as a photojournalist, journalist, author and writer:My work has appeared in New York Times Sunday Magazine, Vanity Fair, U.S. News & World Report, Mother Jones, Utne Reader and numerous other publications.
My original reporting has put me in front of the camera on such programs as Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox News, 48 Hours, Nightline, ABC/NBC/CBS Nightly News, and The Editors.
I have won numerous national and regional journalism awards.
I've had the following books published:
Harvest of Rage: Why Oklahoma City is Only the Beginning
1998, published by Westview Press
Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime
2000, published by Westview Press
Books endorsers include Filmmaker Michael Moore, Historian Howard Zinn and best-selling authors Jim Hightower and Mark Dowie.
I've been a working photojournalist since 1985.
In 2018 I launched my Windows Walls and Invisible Lines: Portraits of Life in Sanctuary project. I’m currently traveling throughout the nation photographing and interviewing undocumented immigrants who have been forced to take sanctuary in churches to avoid deportation back to their countries of origin. For many of these people, such an outcome would force them to decide between giving up their small children or taking them back to a world of poverty and violence. In addition, many now in sanctuary have been marked for death by gangs should they ever be deported.
back to gallery
