Analysis Of The Devil's Highway By Luis Alberto Urrea

The Devil’s Highway is a true story written by Luis Alberto Urrea. This story was about a Mexican migration into the United States that took place May 2001. In 2001, a group of men tried to cross the United States border, in an area in which there were no border patrols, due to harsh conditions that were too dangerous for people to cross. These tough conditions were in Arizona, on a road called The Devil’s Highway. This tragic event consisted of the largest amount of deaths due to crossing the border in history. This large group consisted of twenty-six men, only twelve of whom survived. This group was called The Yuma-14, for the fourteen men who died.

Urrea and readers, both try to comprehend how much better life in the United States must

Coyotes are men who sneak groups of Mexicans across the border. They pay the border patrol to sneak them through. The Coyotes brought the Yuma-14 somewhere between Yuma and Nogales, where there is little to nothing to keep the immigrants out. The Coyotes who guide the group along the Devil’s Highway help the men get to the United States, and then they ship them to different parts of the country to find jobs. They then have to repay the loan they took out that got them there. Three of these guides led them to the border and one remained with them throughout the rest of the journey. These guides are typically paid one hundred dollars per person to lead people across the border and they never reveal their names so they cannot be identified. The guide for the Yuma-14 was a nineteen-year-old boy, and he would have earned three hundred dollars for this job if the men had not

However, it was hard to read in my opinion. Reading about the hard time they experienced was difficult to read. Personally, I find that it is easier to read a book that is happy or funny rather than books about hardships and personal struggles. While reading this book and learning how much each person struggled I found it hard to connect to. It was interesting to learn about the immigration because I did not know much about it before this. I personally do not think immigration is a bad thing, but I could never tell my father that. I learned a lot about the struggle each person goes through to try and make money for his or her family. It is sad reading about how hard some people's lives can be; I guess I take things for granted sometimes. This group of people was struggling so badly for money that they were willing to risk their lives. They knew conditions were harsh but they knew the outcome would help their