In La paloma y la ley (The Dove and the Law) photographer Lisette Poole González follows two women, Marta Amaro and Liset Barrios, who left Cuba in May 2016 with no plan, just the name of a coyote—a human smuggler— scribbled on a piece of paper, and their American Dream. They hoped to arrive before the imminent end of “wet foot, dry foot,” a policy that fast-tracked Cubans to permanent residency.

The story follows their 51-day journey through 13 countries, across 10 borders and 6 days in the Darien Gap—a roadless stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama. Poole González reported, recorded and photographed with several formats, including her professional SLR, smartphone, 35mm film, and a GoPro —like her subjects, she too was smuggled across country lines.

The bilingual 360-page volume details not only the physical journey in its entirety, but also the women’s internal evolution as they face the many forces that attempt to dominate their circumstances. The dove, a symbol of freedom, speaks to their ability to take control over their situation. To the best of their abilities, they exercise agency against geopolitics, patriarchy, law enforcement, and leaders of the nefarious human smuggling trade.

Poole’s multimedia approach, which includes her own inner monologue, conveys the urgency of Liset and Marta’s plight. The book employs bilingual long-form essays, 150 photographs, maps, screen captures, transcripts, and social media to explore themes of friendship, sex work, underground economies, the American Dream, and others. The artist’s storytelling blurs lines between realities. Her text “Te amo” (I Love You), interweaves the nefarious existence of migrants in motion with everyday contexts throughout Latin America.

She photographs Marta and Liset both with the ethical distance of a journalist and the tender intimacy of a close friend. Maintaining her role as observer, Poole is inextricably present in the story of these two women, at times turning the camera on herself.

The book is now part of the permanent collection at the United States Library of Congress and Poole has presented the work at international festivals including Internazionale á Ferrara in Italy, and the Festival GABO in Medellín, Colombia. She has written an op-ed for The New York Times; notable press includes NPR, The Washington Post and TIME.