The Devil’s Highway is a retelling of the true story about immigration into the United States. As internationally known as a tragedy, in May 2001, a group of Mexican men decided to cross the U.S border through the deadliest region in North America, the Arizonian desert. It is an area that even the Border Patrol doesn’t cover, because of the many risks connected to it. The event became the largest group of border deaths in history, as only twelve of the twenty -six men survived. In the first part of the book, facts about the crossing itself were listed.
In the second part of the book, we learn about how the men were recruited for the trip. The trip was financed by a gang called “The Cercas Family”. Each of the men that attempted to cross the border did so with good reason, and knew the risk of death, though they deemed the danger worth it. Their lives seemed as or even more dangerous and poor in Mexico than they would be in the desert. The lack of money doesn’t only lead to starvation for many of the citizens, but lack of shelter, clothes, education and even water.
Lack of money isn’t the only thing that led the men to attempt the crossing. Mexico has been plagued by corruption a long time, with gangs having the real influence and power over the government. Smuggling, prostitution, human trafficking and death all laden the streets, which makes escaping the country the only way out of the exploitation.
On their way to the border, the men went from Veracruz, the city they came from, to Sonoita, a city closer to the border where they would take a bus north, transported 100 yards south of the border. They manage to cross, but as they begin walking, they see a blue light that they believe is the Border patrol. Their guide panics and lead them the wrong way, wondering if they are getting lost. Urrea describes the six stages of hyperthermia.
The reader is also described the pure strength and physical traits a person needs to manage to make the journey over the deserts, as well as reciting how each of the men died. He talks about the interview the survivors went through in the hospital before they were put in jail. By doing this, Urrea highlights the relationship between the United States and Mexico, whist opening the problem up for discussion.
