It is estimated that each year, between , and , migrants, the majority of whom are from El Salvador , Guatemala, and Honduras , ride atop these trains in the effort to reach the United States. As of May 9, , train operators have banned passengers from traveling on the train. Many of the dangers posed by this journey result from the train itself and the process of climbing aboard and getting off moving trains.
Because accidents often occur during the night and in rural areas, victims are often not found immediately. As with all migrant routes, those who use freight trains are subject to high rates of violence and property crime. In , Ferromex , one of the largest freight rail companies in Mexico, suspended operations of 60 trains to protect the safety of migrants, as thousands of migrants were attempting to ride the trains and putting their own lives at risk.
Many Central American migrants receive aid from Mexican families and community members who provide migrants with food, [ 9 ] shelter, clothes, and medicine despite their own poverty.
One such group is Las Patronas in Veracruz. A government support service, called Grupos Beta , was also created to help migrants. Often, Grupos Beta ride along the train tracks and visit rest stops, where they provide medical aid and information to migrants. Essentially, they are a "mobile humanitarian unit [that] does not enforce the law.
Apart from Grupos Beta, the Mexican Government has been criticized for its relaxed approach to the countless instances of rights violations and abuses regarding Central American migrants. Which Way Home is a documentary that follows the stories of children who have left their homes to go to the United States. The children, aged from 9 to 15, come from various countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico.
