Illegal immigration was one of most contested topics in 2012. Lost in political squabbling is the inherent danger of those following their dreams to cross the U.S. border in search of the American dollar and the hope of a better life for themselves and their family back home.
Many migrants make the journey safely. Others are caught and deported. Some are sent back home in wooden crates. About 150-250 people a year die attempting to cross the border. About 2,000 have died in the past 10 years according to statistics compiled by No More Deaths and the Arizona Recovered Human Remains Project.
On July 22, 2012, a smuggler driving 22 migrants in a pickup four hours southwest of Houston, crashed the truck into a tree after a the front passenger tire blew. Fifteen people died. Two of them were best friends and cousins, Leonel Tipaz de Leon, 21, and Diego Tipaz Jorge, 16, of Piedras Blancas, Guatemala.
The two cousins shared dreams escaping the cornfields in rural Guatemala where they made about $7 a day.
Just four hours from their destination, Leonel and Diego’s dreams ended. This is their journey back home.