Crossing the Wire

During the long ride to the border the train is stopped multiple times, but in their hiding spot in the Suburban, Victor and Julio are never found. Julio tells Victor that he plans to cross to America via one of the two long tunnels that carry storm runoff under the border, from Nogales, Mexico to Nogales, Arizona. The tunnels are dry most of the time and populated by gangswho try to take money from people who don’t know the password, but Julio does.

When Julio was last in the U.S., he worked for five months at a turkey farm before the police arrested him, keeping him in jail for four months and then deporting him. The risk remains worth it to Julio because, “You never go hungry there, once you find work” (62). In Honduras, his father makes only $1.50 per day, but in El Norte, he made $60 per day.

In Nogales, Victor and Julio explore the city, finding American tourists, beggars, drug addicts, and eventually, the tunnels. They rest for the night under a mesquite tree.