Mexico Trucker Online

Despite risks, hundreds of thousands of migrants cross border illegally to work and live in the United States

Jose and his wife, Angela, huddle under a small makeshift tent on the sand at Playas de Tijuana, the rusted fence that divides the United States and Mexico confronting them.

Above them, white skulls, each with a name or the words No Identificado – “unidentified” – are painted on the fence in memory of those who died trying to cross. They serve as a constant reminder.

“The crossing is very dangerous,” said Jose, shaking his head. “Without God’s help, we never would have made it this far.”

Jose and Angela have spent the last two years chasing a dream.

The dream, to find work in the United States, has taken them hundreds of miles from their four children and village in Honduras. The dream is to be able to send money home to their children. For food. Shoes. Clothing.

Running 2,000 miles, the border stretches across the desert and mountains of the Southwest, representing much to many: a buffer between two friendly but distinctly different nations; a zone of protection between the First and Third Worlds; a final, tortuous hurdle between making $6 a day and making $6 an hour.

For Jose and Angela la linea represents the last.

Making their way from Honduras into Mexico was far more difficult than the couple expected.

Mexico, in an attempt to protect its own border to the south and halt the flood of poor from Central and Latin America, enacted Plan Sur in 2001. Police and soldiers regularly patrol the more than 600 miles of border dividing Mexico from Guatemala and Belize.

Once they made it across into Mexico’s Chiapas state, Jose tried to make some money selling ice cream in the streets. But after allowing him to work for more than a month, his employer reported him to Mexican immigration agents. This is a popular move by employers in both Mexico and the United States.

Jose says he has seen other, far worse abuses carried out by Mexican officials.

“They will steal the migrants’ money, shoes or clothing. They’ll sometimes rape the women,” Jose said. “So much abuse.”

Life on the road has left its scars. Jose suffers partial paralysis on the left side of his face.

Stress, he says.

Some 60 percent of of the illegal residents in the United States entered by sneaking across the border, according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The remaining 40 percent entered legally but overstayed their visas.

The bureau estimates that 7 million undocumented aliens live in the United States, a number that rises by 350,000 each year.

The two magnets attracting undocumented immigrants are jobs and family. The typical Mexican worker earns one-tenth of what his U.S. counterpart earns. Numerous American businesses are willing to hire cheap, compliant labor from abroad.

In addition, communities of recently arrived legal immigrants can help create networks and serve as incubators for illegal immigration, providing jobs, housing and entree to America for illegal-alien relatives and countrymen.

For Jose and Angela, there have been some sparks of hope. After hearing Jose’s story, one government worker in Chiapas helped him and his wife obtain immigration documents that allow them to remain in Mexico.

Down on the beach the waves surge and recede, revealing glimpses of their planned destination. For now there is nothing to do but wait.