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Photos: The ‘American Dream’ of many migrants becoming a Mexican one

The illegal crossing of Hondurans, Salvadoreans and Guatemalans to Mexico increased significantly since October. But faced with increased controls by Mexican authorities, at the behest of Washington, to stem the flow of migrants heading north from Central America, they're considering postponing their "American dream" for the time being.

Updated on: Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM IST

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Migrants onboard a train known as “The Beast” in Palenque, Chiapas state, Mexico. The illegal crossing of Hondurans, Salvadoreans and Guatemalans to Mexico increased significantly since October but migratory controls have postponed the “American dream” of migrant families. The journey northwards is becoming ever more treacherous since Mexico deployed thousands of troops to its border with Guatemala, which has also signed a pact with Washington aimed at keeping migrants out of the US. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

Migrants onboard a train known as “The Beast” in Palenque, Chiapas state, Mexico. The illegal crossing of Hondurans, Salvadoreans and Guatemalans to Mexico increased significantly since October but migratory controls have postponed the “American dream” of migrant families. The journey northwards is becoming ever more treacherous since Mexico deployed thousands of troops to its border with Guatemala, which has also signed a pact with Washington aimed at keeping migrants out of the US. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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A migrant child plays at La Casa del Caminante shelter. Mexico’s government insists that its new migration measures are designed to treat undocumented travelers with dignity, looking after their integrity and human rights. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

A migrant child plays at La Casa del Caminante shelter. Mexico’s government insists that its new migration measures are designed to treat undocumented travelers with dignity, looking after their integrity and human rights. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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Migrants eat and rest at La Casa del Caminante shelter. “Many prefer to go deeper into the jungle and the mountains to get here because both the police and criminals will rob them,” said Sister Maria Tello, director of the Casa del Caminante refuge located close to the Palenque train stop. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

Migrants eat and rest at La Casa del Caminante shelter. “Many prefer to go deeper into the jungle and the mountains to get here because both the police and criminals will rob them,” said Sister Maria Tello, director of the Casa del Caminante refuge located close to the Palenque train stop. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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Honduran migrant Cesar Caballero and family eat at La Casa del Caminante shelter. Sister Maria says she doesn’t know which routes exactly the migrants take “but even if we knew them, we wouldn’t divulge them because that would put (the migrants) in danger.” She said migrants arrive “badly hurt and tired,” with viral diseases and dehydrated due to the long routes through inhospitable terrain. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

Honduran migrant Cesar Caballero and family eat at La Casa del Caminante shelter. Sister Maria says she doesn’t know which routes exactly the migrants take “but even if we knew them, we wouldn’t divulge them because that would put (the migrants) in danger.” She said migrants arrive “badly hurt and tired,” with viral diseases and dehydrated due to the long routes through inhospitable terrain. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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Migrants walk towards La Bestia al so known as “The Beast” in Palenque. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

Migrants walk towards La Bestia al so known as “The Beast” in Palenque. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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A Mexican migrations officer waits at a checkpoint in Palenque. One of the Hondurans given refuge at the Casa del Caminante, says he had to pay members of the Guatemalan security forces three times.”Otherwise they would have made me get off the bus,” travelling with his wife and three children, including a three-month old. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

A Mexican migrations officer waits at a checkpoint in Palenque. One of the Hondurans given refuge at the Casa del Caminante, says he had to pay members of the Guatemalan security forces three times.”Otherwise they would have made me get off the bus,” travelling with his wife and three children, including a three-month old. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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La Bestia’s blazing headlights and the screeching sound of metal on the tracks break the humid dawn atmosphere in Palenque. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

La Bestia’s blazing headlights and the screeching sound of metal on the tracks break the humid dawn atmosphere in Palenque. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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A migrant gets on La Bestia. One needs to pay $26 to be taken across 20 miles (33 kilometers) of national park from El Naranjo in Guatemala to the Mexican frontier. The price jumped to $42 for the onward 40-mile trip to Tenosique, in Mexico, where migrants can jump on the train “La Bestia.” (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

A migrant gets on La Bestia. One needs to pay $26 to be taken across 20 miles (33 kilometers) of national park from El Naranjo in Guatemala to the Mexican frontier. The price jumped to $42 for the onward 40-mile trip to Tenosique, in Mexico, where migrants can jump on the train “La Bestia.” (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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Just before joining his compatriots, a migrant hit out at US President Donald Trump and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador over the agreement that increased border patrols to stave off the threat of stiff new US trade tariffs against its southern neighbour. “What the presidents have done is stir up the hornet’s nest, so there is going to be damage, more deaths,” he said. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

Updated on Aug 06, 2019 2:30 PM

Just before joining his compatriots, a migrant hit out at US President Donald Trump and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador over the agreement that increased border patrols to stave off the threat of stiff new US trade tariffs against its southern neighbour. “What the presidents have done is stir up the hornet’s nest, so there is going to be damage, more deaths,” he said. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP)

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