For a Growing Number of Central American Migrants, the New American Dream May Be in Mexico Jan-Albert Hootsen - Vocativ
go to original August 14, 2014

Wilfredo Garay and his wife, Lilian, and stepson, Joshua. (Vocativ/Jan-Albert Hootsen)

ESTACIÓN CHONTALPA, Mexico — Whenever a car slows and enters this small, tropical town in the southern state of Tabasco, Wilfredo Garay rushes onto the road to beg for change. Because of his prosthetic left leg, the 47-year-old Honduran finds it hard to move quickly. But Garay knows he needs to hustle. There are dozens of other Central American migrants waiting to converge, and most drivers will stop and toss a peso to only the first person they see.

Nearly all the migrants in the area beg for a living, having traveled north on the “Beast,” a massive freight train carrying goods and stowaways north to Mexico City that stops at a decrepit railway station here. Few, however, seem to complain about their lives. “Life isn’t so bad here,” Garay says. “I don’t think we need to think of going north anymore.”

In recent months, following an unprecedented surge of child migrants from Central America, U.S. authorities are ramping up security along the southern border. A small but growing number of Central Americans have reacted by giving up on their American Dreams and opting to stay in Mexico. The expensive and perilous journey north just isn’t worth it anymore, many say, especially with the increased risk of deportation. Indeed, most shudder at the thought of returning home to countries plagued by poverty and violence.

“It’s a matter of perspective, costs and benefits,” says Jorge Durand, an anthropologist at the University of Guadalajara. “Mexico is becoming increasingly attractive.”

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