DREAMs Deferred is an original exhibition designed by The Immigrant Story in collaboration with acclaimed Portland photographer Jim Lommasson’s “What We Carried” storytelling project. Through short-form narratives, object stories, and vivid photography, this exhibition amplifies the voices of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central American who came to the United States as children or young adults. These individuals – collectively referred to as “DREAMers” – grew up navigating school, work, and social life without official papers.

The combination of the story, portrait, and treasured item of each individual allows viewers to look into that person’s eyes, read intimate details about their life, and see a meaningful artifact of their life history. The carried objects become more than just mementos of homes and lives left behind. As these ordinary items cross the border, they transform into the sacred. The result is the recognition that behind the terms “undocumented immigrants” or “alien” lies an individual with a story.