They said that San Pedro Sula wasn't that bad and laughed

The Grim Reaper awaits 

On Tuesday, we returned to the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) in Nogales, Mexico. While most of the other Scranton faculty and staff on the trip served food to the migrants, I sat down to help the first time arrivals complete a survey. The survey included questions like their name, age, hometown, where they had been deported from (the border area of living in the US), and whether they had suffered some form of abuse.

I'd say the migrant who moved me the most was Nicolas. He wrote that he was 19 and was traveling with his brother who was 32. However, he looked more like he was 12 years old. Later I learned that he was 14 and his older brother was actually his dad which honestly made more sense. I assume that he said that he was 19 so that he would not be separated from his dad. They had both been recently deported from the United States after getting detained while in transit. The young boy did speak to me but I was affected by the fact that he and his dad were most likely returning to their hometown in the state of Guerrero. Guerrero is the Mexican state where 43 college students were disappeared and presumably killed by police working in cahoots with a local drug gang.

Unlike Monday, all the migrants I spoke to had left their homes primarily because of the lack of work. It seemed that unemployment, violence, and family reunification all played a role but that the lack of economic opportunity was the primary cause for why they had left their homes.

While it wasn't too many, I was surprised at the number of migrants who had lived in the United States without papers but had decided to return home voluntarily. They often returned to Mexico to visit a sick or dying relative. They were then caught returning to the US. While it is somewhat hard to believe, they hadn't realized how much more difficult and dangerous the illegal trip to the US is today than when they had last made the trip a few years ago. They were honestly surprised.

Another migrant stood out. We spoke about Illinois, Colorado, and North Dakota - three states where he had worked before returning to Mexico voluntarily. He was apprehended crossing the border. I asked if he was considering recrossing. He said no. He was returning to his home state (which at this moment I don't remember). He did not want to risk getting apprehended again because a second apprehension would be a felony and result in jail time. Neither he nor his family could risk that. He thanked all the volunteers at KBI in Spanish and then in English which he spoke rather well.

Mexicans are allowed in KBI only after they've been deported and only for a few days. However, Central Americans are welcome to come in and eat even if they haven't attempted the trek to the United States. They are still only allowed to come in for a few days. I spoke to two young men from San Pedro Sula. They hoped to cross the border on Saturday. It was to be the first attempt for the two of them.

I asked if they were leaving San Pedro because of the violence. They looked at each other and sort of laughed. They said that San Pedro wasn't that bad. It sure seemed like a bit of black humor to deal with what is a pretty rough city.