“La Bestia”
Luiselli explains, “To the question about how they travelled here, with a blend of pride and horror, most say: “I came on La Bestia” – which literally means “the beast”, and refers to the freight trains that cross Mexico, on top of which as many as half a million Central American migrants ride annually. There are no passenger services along the routes, so migrants have to ride atop the rail cars or in the recesses between them.”
The trains are risky because of the high likelihood of getting injured while aboard them. Falling off the trains occurs due to their hazardous status; most are old. The children's resolution to use La Bestia depicts their desperation to get to America. The trains are similar to demons that contribute to many immigrants' deaths, especially when they "sucks distracted riders down into its metal entrails.”
Mass Murder
Luiselli reports, “On 24 August 2010, the bodies of 72 Central and South American migrants were found, piled up in a mass grave, at a ranch in San Fernando, Tamaulipas. Some had been tortured, and all had been shot in the back of the head. Three migrants in the group had faked their deaths and, though wounded, survived. They lived to tell the complete story: members of the drug cartel Los Zetas had perpetrated the mass murder after the migrants had refused to work for them and did not have the means to pay a ransom.”
The mass murder depicts the cruelty and gruesome which migrants endure. They are dehumanized and robbed of their dignity. The vulnerability of the immigrants makes them target prey for the dangerously armed drug cartels. The chances of survival are very minimal once they embark on their quest to enter America. They are not guaranteed to arrive in America safely due to the ubiquity of drug lords who intend to exploit them.
“Green Card Application”
Luiselli explains, “The green card application is nothing like the intake questionnaire for undocumented minors. When you apply for a green card you have to answer things like “Do you intend to practice polygamy?” and “Are you a member of the Communist Party?” and “Have you ever knowingly committed a crime of moral turpitude?”
The questions included in the application indicate the stereotypes that the immigrants would face all their lives should they be lucky to have the application approved. The questions imply that immigrants are deemed threats to morality. Psychoanalytically, the questions would encourage the applicants to internalize feelings of inferiority projected through the demeaning questions. The applicants must reply to the questions because they are desperate to get admitted to the 'Land of Opportunities.'
Screening
Luiselli writes, “The process by which a child is asked questions during the intake interview is called screening, a term that is as cynical as it is appropriate: the child a reel of footage, the translator-interpreter an obsolete apparatus used to channel that footage, the legal system a screen, itself too worn out, too filthy and tattered to allow any clarity, any attention to detail. Stories often become generalized, distorted, appear out of focus.”
The screening is flawed because it does not result in well-organized stories regarding the children's divergent experiences throughout their migration. The stories are not clear due to the questions that result in generalized answers. The screening is not favorable to the children's psychological wellness.
