[link to wlrn.org]


There’s a network of freight trains that runs the length of Mexico, from its southernmost border with Guatemala north to the United States.

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These aren’t passenger trains; there are no panoramic windows, seats, or even a roof to guard from sun or rain. People call the train La Bestia or The Beast. Some call it the Death Train.

It's estimated that up to half a million migrants now ride The Beast each year, sitting back-to-back along the spine of the cars, trying not to get knocked off their roof-top perch.

“They’re just packed,” says photojournalist Keith Dannemiller, who has lived in Mexico for the better part of three decades. “There’s not much room for anyone else to get on board by the time the train pulls out.”


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One of the things that struck Dannemiller while documenting the Beast was just how many kids were riding the train.

Instead of merry-go-round horses, kids from these countries are hoisted onto the back of this metal beast that’s just as likely to spit them out as it is to shepherd them safely to the border.

In 2011, U.S. border patrol detained around 6,800 undocumented children. In 2012, that rose to 13,000; last year it was 24,000. Most estimates predict more than 60,000 minors will be detained this year alone.