Project October 6, 2015
Between Borders: American Migrant Crisis
"Between Borders: American Migrant Crisis" begins in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the current murder capital of the World. Largely controlled by drug cartels, the citizens of San Pedro Sula are forced to pay the gangs a cut of their wages as daily "war taxes."
Young people fleeing Honduras say that you pay the war tax, you join the gang, or you most likely die.
It is not surprising that hundreds of young people attempt to flee this chaos everyday, embarking on a long and dangerous journey, across three countries and thousands of miles, in hopes of settling with relatives in the United States.
The Renaud brothers trace the journey these young people make from the violent streets of Honduras through Guatemala and across the Suchiate River aboard a flimsy and treacherous raft. Some of them will try and illegally board "the Beast" freight train, while others make the journey by hitchhiking or foot. No matter which method they choose, risk of arrest by Mexican police or abduction by drug cartels is a constant danger.
There are bright spots along the journey. The young people stick together like family, and at shelters, migrants can find a safe place to rest and eat before returning on the journey north.
If they are lucky and make it to the United States most of these young people will seek asylum, claiming it would be unreasonable to deport them back to such a dangerous and violent place as Honduras has become.