A Bus Ride Across Mexico's Other Border

Central Americans trying to get to the U.S. are sent back home instead

You would think it would be an enjoyable trip. Reclining seats, AC cranked up against the tropical climate and southeast Mexico's lush countryside to gaze at. These folks are going home. Trouble is, they don't want to. When the bus crosses the border and pulls up on the narrow, rain-soaked street in front of the immigration office in El Carmen Frontera, Guatemala, its passengers are in a foul mood. Home is El Salvador or Honduras or Nicaragua or Guatemala itself--all disaster plagued, crime-ridden, poorer by the minute and, as far as those on the bus are concerned, best seen in the...

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