The Families Migrants Left Behind

By Frontera NorteSur
April 19, 2013

In Mexico and Central America, thousands and thousands of families are largely forgotten in the immigration debate. They are the survivors of migrants who died in the United States or perished while attempting to cross the border. Deprived of their breadwinners, the survivors often engage in Herculean efforts to move ahead in life.

In the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, Guadalupe “Lupita” Velazquez and her three young children are among those eking out an existence in the absence of a loved one who died during a border crossing.

Velazquez was left a widow after her husband Irineo Barrita, 29, was killed together with eight other Mexican nationals-all from Oaxaca-when the driver of the van in which the group was riding attempted to flee the Border Patrol in Palmview, Texas, on April 10, 2012. Six other passengers of the packed vehicle were injured.[...]

Read the full article:
http://fnsnews.nmsu.edu/2013/04/19/the-families-migrants-left-behind/