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History: In this portion of the chapter we learned about the history of the Devil's Highway and all of the haunted ghosts and spirits that roam around the area. We also learned that the devil's highway is a passage through the desert that many immigrants use to leave Mexico in to the US. The first person (recorded) who passed away while on the path was Melchior Diaz (person in the picture above) and suffered a very slow and painful death for attempting to kill a dog. Instead he hurt himself and his body slowly decayed on the desert floor under the burning sun. Since then, many have not made it past this path way without either coming out seriously injured or dying.

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In this section of the chapter we read more about the Men who cross through the Vidrios Drag in search for border patrol to recieve help. Of course there are many occasions where immigrants stay away from border patrol to avoid being beaten, handcuffed, groped or molested, but this just shows how severe their situation is. Some of the people hope to see the "men in green" so they can end their misery of being in the desert. The 5 men reacted the same way when they saw Agent Mike. Agent mike was in shock when he realized how severe the amount of dead bodies there were or could be lying around the desert.

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In the third section of chapter one, we learn about how the rate of illegal immigrants crossing the border is getting higher and security is becoming more strict since the amount of deaths is increasing day by day. It is a known fact that there is an unofficial policy between the border patrol to leave the bodies where they are found because most of them dont want to do all the paper work and identification process. We also see a bit of a casual day as a border patrol officer at the Wellton station and how they like to keep their image as clean as possible. It does not sit right with me that the station likes to keep the energy very light and happy/casual, yet their job contradicts that energy since it is very traumatic and sad. Apparently many of the agents dont like to speak about their jobs with other people due to the traumatic things they see out in the desert such as dead bodies boiling underneath the powerful sun.

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In this last section of the chapter, we hear more from the border patrols perspective and what their everyday at work looks like. We learned more about how the border patrol track the people walking through the drag. They use special sensors that send signals to the patrol when a person walks by the device. Along the drag, patrols find many bodies who unfortunately never made it out of the burning desert. The author speaks more about the "Yuma 14̈" which are 14 men who were found dead that were originally apart of a group of 26 men. Each of them carrying what they could (which was barely anything) and this was a main cause of their passings.

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In the beginning of this chapter we learn more about why these Mexicans are trying to immigrate to the Unites States of America. It is because Mexico also had the same situation of immigration rates going up since the people from central america kept coming to mexico to get the more low paying jobs in the cities. This left some Mexicans no choice but to flee their own country and move more up north into the United States. We were also introduced to Don Moi who is a well known recruiter for the northern Coyotes. People view Don Moi as a rich upper class man since he's been to the United States many times. When people see his big belly, this is a symbol of wealth for them because majority of the community can barely get enough food for themselves and their families. In reality, Don Moi (Moises) is involved in a very sketchy business and does not seem very reliable. At the end of the chapter, Don Moi has recruited around 7-8 people to cross through the desert and tells his boss that he'll get more.

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Chapter 3: The Coyote and the Chicken (p. 54-65)

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Chapter 3: The Coyote and the Chicken (p. 54-65)

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In Chapter 3, we see the signs that the Mexican government puts in front of the border that says to not trust the coyotes with their lives. The problem is, the people emigrating from the country majority of the time did not grow up speaking Spanish since many of them are indigenous. This goes to show that the government is not really noticing or paying attention to the type of people who are trying to leave.

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Antonio Lopez Ramos is introduced to the story as a Guia (guide) which is the lowest job of the human smuggling business. Antonio is also known as just "Mendez" or "Jesus" and apparently he is well known to the US border and was given the name "Rooster Boy" by the Border Patrol agents.  We learn a little bit about his personal life like his girlfriend Celia Lomas Mendez (reason why some call him Mendez), his best friend Rodrigo Maradona who was also a guia. Wellton agents also tell some stories of times when Guias/polleros have messed up or left their "pollitos" to suffer. For example, one time a Pollero told his group of walkers that he was going to get a fresh van and pick them up after their 5 mile journey, but instead he left and never came back. Many people died including a pregnant 19 year-old woman. Many of these guias only do this job because they also want to make more money for them and their families. It seems like a win/lose situation because they get to help their families, but at what cost?

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Chapter 5: Jesús Walks Among Us (p. 71-83)

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Chapter 5: Jesús Walks Among Us (p. 71-83)

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In chapter five, we gain more information about Antonio aka Jesus, aka Mendez and how he got involved in the Cercas Family business/human smuggling business. Jesus was once an illegal immigrant himself, but returned back to the Mexican side of the border and that is when he got more involved with the cercas gang. Jesus was having a conversation with Rodrigo Maradona who was also a fellow brick yard worker but had a side job with the Cercas gang. Maradona was telling Jesus that he was making thousands more than his usual pay and this made Jesus more interested/convinced because he needed the money. We also hear some of the bold music that Jesus listens to like "Stolen at Gunpoint" which shows a bit of his personality as a kind of civil rights activist type of person.

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Maradona and Mendez arrive in Sonoita and realize that they have clearly been given a harder job with worse conditions. To the border patrol who work there, they feel more superior since the conditions are harder to work with in Arizona, but to El Negro's boys it was just another desert. The two end up having these two men Lauro and Santos (their "teachers") show them through the area and later on Jesus finds a girl who ends up being his girlfriend (hence his nickname, Mendez). Before the Wellton 26 walk, Mendez gets arrested from his previous trip and surprisingly gets another trip offer from El Negro. Don Moi on the other hand is on the bus with the men on their way to Sonoita to meet with the coyotes. Many of the men are already impressed with the bus that they are sitting in since it has bathrooms and AC and feel like it can only go up from there. Little do they know what's about to happen in the near future..

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Chapter 7: A Pepsi for the Apocalypse (p. 88-105)

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Chapter 7: A Pepsi for the Apocalypse (p. 88-105)

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Mendez starts his day with a rough morning. He wakes up with a hangover after partying the night before, and now has to prepare for a big day ahead of him. During this time of year, the barrio is noisy. Kids screaming, people randomly setting off firecrackers, vendedores(sellers) selling ice cream, corn on the cob, tacos, and more. Mendez looks for Maradona, but he's no where to be found. This is very unfortunate since Maradona is the only one who knows the route. Instead, El Negro sends down Lauro and Santos which says a lot because it takes two men to replace Maradona.  When they meet up with the walkers, they decide to stop at a general store to stock up, but all they buy are a bunch of weird snacks and Pepsi. Materials that stand no chance against the dangers of the desert.

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Chapter 8: Bad Step at Bluebird (p. 106-114)

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Chapter 8: Bad Step at Bluebird (p. 106-114)

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In this chapter, Mendez is leading the men and they are all still in good shape. Some of the men joke around with each other because they have no clue what lies ahead of them. Mendez tells the men that just over the next hill would be the second desert but by 11:30pm Mendez tells the men that they had to hide/duck since he saw La Migra. This caused the men to question Mendez since La Migra would have shined a light at them, not followed. They also wonder why he would run back into the desert to hide knowing that going back is basically a suicidal mission. At some point it starts to rain which makes the men more optimistic since they already feel lucky that they've "outran" the Migra. In reality, Mendez is actually on uncharted territory and pretty much... lost.

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At this point, the men suspect that Mendez is very lost, but Mendez reassures them that he knows exactly where they are. He keeps saying " just over the next hill" over and over. But in reality, Mendez has made several errors and keeps leading them men into more danger by making them walk long distances in the bright burning sun. We hear stories of other victims who have also died in the desert. This shows us that the desert never discriminates and will choose who ever it wants to be its next victim. In both of these occasions, the two couples were both prepared and still did not make it out alive. Urrea also describes the stages of hyperthermia which is what them men die of because of the heat. The stages consist of Heat Stress, Heat Fatigue, Heat Syncope, Heat Cramps, Heat Exhaustion, and lastly Heat Stroke which means death.

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In this chapter, the men are still walking. It seems as if it will never end and Mendez is too stubborn to admit that he's lost. The men are angry at the desert, at Mendez, at Don Moi, and just angry because of the situation they are in. All Mendez keeps saying is " a couple more miles" and the men are all tired of him lying to them. The men including Mendez can't think straight because they are a few stages into hyperthermia which causes them to feel weak and delusional. While the men follow Mendez deeper into the desert, Mendez walks all over the place in zigzags costing everyone more time and life that is slowly running out for each of them. At some point, Santos (one of the coyotes) tells the group that they should just head back since Mendez was clearly lost. Mendez refuses but some people decide to follow Santos in hopes of making it out alive and majority stay with Mendez because they feel as if they've gone to far to just head back. Sadly, Santos' group is never heard of again and most likely did not make it out of the desert. Everyone is on edge (especially Mendez) and decide to rest for the rest of the day. Little do they know that they next day death would be arriving.

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In this chapter, we learn some of the names of the walkers who got lost in the desert(thus the chapter being called "Their Names") and their stories. For example, there is Enrique Landeros García who was a 30 years old when we got lost. He was from a small village in Veracruz and was walking for his wife Octavia and his son Alexis. Both of them didn't want him to go but he told them that it would make their lives better. One day, he told his family that he was going to the market, but he never came back. Octavia knew what he had done and had to break the news to Alexis. Another man was Reyno Bartolo Hernandez who was a 37 year old man from San Pedro. He was a coffee farmer and was married to Augustina (his wife of 19 years). It seems like Augustina was supportive of his journey and even prepared his outfit for when he would arrive to his new job. And the list of men only continues. I believe that Urrea adds this chapter because he prepares us for what is about to happen in the next one. It is most likely that these men will not survive the dangers of the desert.

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On Sunday, May 20th the entire group including Mendez was almost 100% sure that they were going to die soon. Mendez couldn't lie to the men anymore so he stopped telling them "just over that hill" and "a couple more miles". According to Mendez, he told the men that if he didn't go to get help (alone) they were all destined to die and that the men offered him money so he could bring back resources for all of them. The men said that Mendez actually forced them to pay him money (no pesos allowed) and made Lauro come with him. This was very suspicious since both the coyotes were leaving and the men would be all alone, in the desert.  They said they'd be back in 5 hours, but 5 hours soon became 8 and that's when the men realized they had left them. Mendez and Lauro never came back. The men new that if they were to stop and lay down, they'd die sooner, so they started to walk as they were in the middle stages of hyperthermia.

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Chapter 13: The Trees and the Sun (p. 162-168)

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Chapter 13: The Trees and the Sun (p. 162-168)

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In chapter 13, after walking for awhile, the men see a lone migra truck and try to walk to it. They had so little energy that they walked 10 miles in 12 hours! It was until they realized their surroundings and decided to make a fire in hopes of someone seeing them (which was a great idea) but unfortunately did not work. On Tuesday May 22nd, the heat is at triple digits and people are beginning to die, but the men continue to die and leave the others back. Sadly, Reymundo Jr. ends up dying in his father's arms, another man attempts to bury himself, Reymundo Sr. rips his money up and throws it in the air crying, and another man neatly folds all his clothes behind him and dies on his back.

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As Mendez and Lauro continue walking, they start to see the Mohawk peaks which means they are near the freeway. That's when Lauro collapses and says he cant go any farther. Mendez tries to get Lauro to stand back up, but its seems too late. Mendez trys to take Lauro's money and leave, but as he gets on the floor, his legs give up and he himself is now stuck on the ground. Now it is Wednesday, May 23rd and more men have fallen to the ground. A group of 5 led by the Manzano brothers, Efrain and Mario, decided to make a final dash for salvation in hope of being rescued. When some of them start to fall, that is when Mike F. sees them from afar.  Mike calls in a Banzai run for more officers to come and the border control are now in a fully engaged rescue mission. Helicopters search the areas that the men said some had fallen behind at. They find 10 bodies and try to help who ever  they can. At some point, the border patrol finds Mendez and Lauro and that's when we learn that Lauro unfortunately does not make it. As they scan the areas, the helicopters pick more and more bodies as they go.

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There were numerous bodies arriving at Yuma Medical Center on May 23rd. The border patrol tried to make sure that the medical bills are the hospitals responsibility and not the government since 23% of unpaid medical bills are usually made up by illegal immigrants in the Southwest. OUt of the 26 doctors, David Haynes tells the reporters what the walkers looked like and compared them to Egyptian mummies. We are introduced to Rita Vargas, the Mexican consul in Calexico. She is described as a professional and hardworking person but very charming and funny when appropriate. She is very determined and has never been scared to stand up to the border patrol.  As the walkers were being taken care of, the investigations began. The many of the walkers are still not "fully" there but one thing they all agree on is to let the police know everything about Mendez.

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Rita Vargas is in charge of supervising the police interrogations and we hear that police officials warn them to expect a lot more bodies. As the survivors are being stabilized and re-hydrated, they are now officially arrested for the times being and will go to phoenix to be further interrogated. We also see an apology from Mendez trying to prove himself guilty, but it's his word against all the survivors. The survivors realized that as long as they tell their stories they shouldn't end up in jail.

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In chapter 16, The president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, sends the poet Juan Hernandez as his representative to tell the surviving walkers how heroic they were for what they did. On the other hand, Mendez is not receiving the same treatment. At only 19, he knew his life was over. Either by receiving life in prison or being sent to the death row. No matter what the police and investigators had asked him, he kept quiet when it came to talking about the Cercas gang. This was because he knew that the gang could hurt his loved ones at any moment. Vargas was in charge of getting the bodies on the men who had unfortunately passed away back to Veracruz to their families. As the plane boarded, she looked outside to see one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. It was as though Veracruz was welcoming their citizens back. Once they landed there were people surrounding the area to celebrate and welcome home the "martyred heroes" and Vargas meets with some of the family members of the men. She doesn't know how she feels about the Governor using the tragic event as an opportunity to show that he "cares" by calling the men heroes.

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The walkers had been through so much at this point, but they finally had made it. Mendez was sent to a jail in Phoenix and the men were granted employment at a meat factory so they wouldn't have to work in the sun ever again. Things were looking bright for incoming immigrants because of the conversations between President Fox and Bush. Borders were going to be easier to cross until 9/11 unfortunately occurred. This caused the US to be more secured and open borders " suddenly seemed like an act of war". People were finding more cheaper labor in China which caused many Mexican's to get mad and have to shut down hundreds of maquiladoras in Mexico.

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Mendez is in jail and does not respond to anyone. He is located in Safford, Arizona and he receives no visitors. Things have changed and sadly people try to forget what happened in May. Patrols have now become more worried/strict and have tried to create more ways to reduce the amount of deaths discovered in the desert. They have installed towers that tell the walkers to click the Red button for assistance. Many of these towers and maintained by the border patrol themselves. These towers helped reduce the deaths rates from the hundreds to only 9 in the Yuma sector. Consul Flores Vizcarra states that the main thing that is at fault for the deaths of immigrants is "the politics of stupidity that rules both sides of the border". We also learn the statistics of having illegal immigrants in the country and according to the center for Immigration studies, the average illegal immigrant costs the United States negative $55,200 and they keep the minimum wage lower since they are often used for cheaper labor. Illegal immigrants also contribute $300 billion to the US GDP. In the end of the chapter, we see a woman come into the place were some of the men are waiting to be identified and sent to their families. She looks for a certain Juan Garcia and we see out desensitized the workers are because of the way they casually tell her that he's dead.

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Chapter 17: Ten Years On: A Reintroduction (Part 1: p. 221-228)

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Chapter 17: Ten Years On: A Reintroduction (Part 1: p. 221-228)

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It has been Ten years since Urrea had written "The Devils Highway" and 13 years since the Yuma 14 had passed away tragically. Urrea is surprised on how much his life has taken off. He now speaks at high schools and colleges to explain his book and the deeper meaning and importance of immigration. He trys to explain to those (privileged) who dont understand why people from other countries flee illegally. He reveals some things he wished he could've changed in the book and explained some deeper meanings on certain topics such as people blaming the border issues since that is where the border patrol are located.

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Urrea tells how illegal immigration is not really against the federal law and how President Bush had once said in a speech that it was like getting a speeding ticket. We also learn how in the end, Don Moi tried to still take everything from the families who had just lost their sons and husbands until the families can together and beat him until he gave up. We also learn how Urrea is very good friends with some of the people his characters were based like like Dave Fagan (aka Mike F.) and Yuma sheriff Ralph Ogden. Some may see the border as a scary and dangerous place, but for some (like Urrea) it reminds them of home, family, celebrations, corridos, and more.