For this week’s cover story, TIME turned to Davide Monteleone to create a series of powerful black and white portraits that humanize the larger story of global migration. We were inspired by Monteleone’s personal project, “In the Russian East,” which was influenced by Richard Avedon’s renowned series, “In the American West.” Both photographers were inventive in how they framed their subjects — allowing the individuals or families to literally carry over across the borders of the image.