Rudy Flores

Professor Shahrazad Encinias

CAS 115
21 September 2023

P1.1: Central American Migrants: A Word-of-Mouth Exodus to the U.S.

In Central American Migrants are on a word-of-mouth exodus to the U.S. by Tracy Wilkinson,
she describes the hardships and risks many migrants go through to get to the U.S. such as having
to ride on “La Bestia” (The Beast), having to pay bribes to cartels or be killed, even Mexican
authorities to pass through or pay to prevent beatings, tortures, and pay for food. Nearly a decade
after publishing the article we still see the risks migrants take to get to the U.S. with the country
going through a crisis with many trying to cross the border, waiting at the border, and to this day
news about busses transporting migrants throughout the country mainly, Los Angeles and New
York City, with the latter going through a crisis of having limited space to shelter the immigrants
arriving to the big apple.

With the risk of being detained and deported back to their home countries in Central America,
many make the trip back with the hope of crossing to the U.S. having to deal with the notorious
Zetas cartel which charged migrants $100 each stop, “If you don’t pay, they throw try to throw
you off the train,” Jose Eduardo Colix, a 30-year-old Honduran immigrant had been deported
after living in Sacramento for four years having left his wife and three children behind. He also
explained witnessing five people being shot and killed because they didn’t have the money. With
many of these immigrants having to give belongings and money away they rely on priests and
other good samaritans for food and hygiene products. Adrian Rodriguez, a good samaritan who
has fed thousands of people, giving coffee and bread to those who pass by as well as medicine
and other donations he receives. “Sometimes I’m sad to see the train go and never know the fate
of those aboard,” Rodriguez said. Having also encountered a five-year-old boy from El Salvador
who had been abandoned by his father after a police round-up, he helped the boy contact a
relative in Atlanta and later on hopped a northbound train. With the Obama administration
acknowledging the crisis at the border many Republicans blamed the president for “attracting the
crowds and loosening border-crossing restrictions.” These immigrants have it tough having to go
through many obstacles just for a better future for themselves and their children and all have to
leave their homes for the same reasons; poverty, no jobs, and violence. Many spent weeks or
even months in detention centers with the hope of being released and hope to continue their
journey even if they have to start all over. Thousands of migrants leave their homes and head to
the U.S. in hopes of a better life but sadly many die on the way and many are all sent back facing
death in many cases, even when making it to the U.S. they still face discrimination and also
adapting to a new word ‘Latino.’