While the Latino USA team was putting the finishing touches on the Dream 9 show that will premiere later today on LatinoUSA.org, I had the pleasure to work with Steve Pavey, the photographer who chronicled the Dream 9’s 2013 border action. When I asked him to share his thoughts about the Dream 9, this is what he told me:

It was an incredible privilege to not only be invited to document the Dream 9 action, but more importantly, invited into friendships and in the mutual struggle for human freedom. TheDream 9 challenge us all to see the humanity and dignity of immigrants that are too often absent in the politics of immigration reform and especially the absurdity of policies like DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] in the context of the great tragedy of the dehumanization of immigrants in the United States.

In between my other digital duties, I went through all of Steve’s Dream 9 photos and created a slideshow of 18 images that try to capture those days in 2013. The two photos at the end of the slideshow include all the nine members of the Dream 9 after they were released from detention—some of the only examples that show the entire group together. All the photos below are by Steve Pavey of Hope in Focus Photography. You can find more of Steve’s work at stevepavey.com.

Here is Latino USA’s newest show: The Dream 9.