When documentary photographer Greg Constantine describes immigration detention system in the U.S. as a prison system, he’s not using his own words. He says every person he talks to about being detained, not only those who are detained themselves, but their family members, lawyers, advocates, and volunteers, refer to it as that. There are mass incarceration centers at the southern border and other places, but county jails all over the country are renting space to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, contributing to what he says is a self-perpetuating, for-profit system.
Constantine is presenting his photographs in a three-day pop-up exhibit called “Seven Doors,” the first of which is in Portland at Zidell Yards. He joins us to tell us more about the project he began in 2017, and the larger questions and conversations he intends to spark, including human rights, racism and the power of the state.