https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk Made with love en-us 2022-02-04 16:34:57 UTC 2025-10-16 00:26:41 UTC hello@padlet.com jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2037003058 During this section, The author talks about about the harsh conditions and the history of The Devil's Highway. The Devil's highway is known to be a very dangerous route that immigrants take in order to cross the Mexican Border into the United States. This chapter describes the harsh conditions that this route has and tells us that death is a very common thing that happens there and that the first death ever recorded in the devil's highway was in 1541. Melchior Diaz died while trying to fend off a dog. He was trying to get the dog away from his herd of lamb and tried to kill it with his harquebus, but managed to flip it on himself instead. ]]> 2022-02-09 03:29:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2037003058 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2038334452 In this section, the author talks about the five men who separated from the rest of the group in order to find help. They went on a dangerous journey to try to find help and at this point, they were too exhausted and beat up to even care about being caught by border patrol, in fact, they welcomed it. After what seemed like days and days of walking one of the men sees a white truck and runs towards it, leaving the other men behind as the others didn't trust it and were too frightened. The agent gets out of his truck and sees that there are five people in total and counts it in. He sees that the men are on the brink of death and give all of the water to try and help them but they just end up drinking it and throwing it up, but they didn't care still continued to drink. Then one of the men tells the officer that there are 17 men out in the desert who are also on the brink of death. The officer calls it in and is shakened by the number of men because they've never had a group that big since 1980 when 13 Salvadorain men died in the desert trying to cross. ]]> 2022-02-09 16:37:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2038334452 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2041792579 In these pages we get a little insight on what role the border patrol officers play when trying to catch illegal immigrants crossing the border. They are not only disliked in every community but also are stripped away from their work. Because of the author's portrayal, we learn that the border patrol officers are dishonest and seem to have little to no empathy. They show this by confessing that they will often ignore lifeless bodies on the route to avoid any extra work. ]]> 2022-02-11 05:57:59 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2041792579 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2043478069 This section outlines the meaning of what means to "cut the drag." "Cutting the Drag" is a technique used by the border patrol officer that consists of about 5 car tires connected together by chains and connected to the truck. They use these materials to flatten the surface of the area to see if they can trick them into leaving footprints which would put them on high alert. This section also alerts us about the said conditions that the Welton27/Yuma 14 men had to go through. We were given insight into the type of belongs they carried with them along with the sad facts that their only time on a plane would only ever be when transporting their bodies back home to Mexico. ]]> 2022-02-12 06:11:59 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2043478069 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2047841780 Chapter 2 discusses the problems with immigration and how some of the reasons why Mexicans are immigrating to the United States are because of people from Guatemala, Salvador, etc. They are coming to Mexico for a better life and are willing to work for little pay, so it's better for people employing them which makes it harder for Mexicans to get jobs. They also cover how people in Mexico tend to procreate more because of their religion but also because of the likelihood their offspring would take care of them once they get older. Near the end of the Chapter, we learn about Don Moi who recruits Coyotes from the North. Everyone finds him promising as he looks like how everyone likes to look with expensive jewelry and a belly that looks full of delicious food. ]]> 2022-02-15 05:42:09 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2047841780 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2051320116 This chapter outlines how both the United States are doing these very minimalistic and useless things to try and stop immigration and the author also talked about how the coyotes smuggle people into the United States. Both countries on either side added these useless signs to try and prevent people from crossing the border without realizing it doesn't do anything. Most of the people crossing the border come from cities deeper in Mexico meaning that they might not even know how to speak Spanish or they speak a different version of it, thus the signs doing nothing. The United States sign does the same thing but their sign says "USA Prohibido!" which in Spanish means "To use is Prohibited!" which is confusing to those who do speak Spanish. Smuggling humans into the United States is much harder than it was before. It's now harder to get into the easier spots and now the border is mostly surrounded by gangs and family operations that all work together to transport these people]]> 2022-02-16 16:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2051320116 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2053587529 Chapter 4 talks about a nineteen-year-old boy named Antonio Lopez Ramos also known as Mendez or Chuy/Jesus. He was the leader of the Wellton 26. He was known as a Guia. Guias are the people at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to smuggling people across the border because it's a very risky job but with very high pay. Guia's are easily disposable and are almost never recognizable and never cared about because in the job description it's very known that death may be one of the numbers of things you will face. ]]> 2022-02-17 16:29:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2053587529 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2055591163 This chapter describes the type of person Jesus was and what got him to become a Coyote in the first place. Jesus wanted a good-paying job so that he could buy his mom a house. At the time he was working at a brick factory. His co-worker, Maradona told Jesus all about this job he was doing that paid really well. Maradona sold him on the job and Jesus was eager to start. His first trip went perfectly which gave him an ego, so when they transferred Jesus and Maradona to Sonoita, he was sure it was going to be easy. ]]> 2022-02-18 16:49:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2055591163 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2061560158 Chapter 6 talks about what if was like to actually gather the people wanting to cross the border. Jesus and Maradona would wait in Hotel San Antonio for their "pollos." They would also use that room to house them until it was time to go. While Jesus and Maradona were doing this, Don Moi was in Veracruz. He was bringing the Yuma 14 to Mendez and Maradona via a rented charter. It made them feel like millionaires as the charter had better living conditions then they had at home. By the next day when the pollos were going to begin their journey, Don Moi was already on a bus ride home in a blink of an eye. ]]> 2022-02-22 23:52:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2061560158 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2062943083 This chapter talks about their trip to the Devil's highway. Mendez starts the morning hungover after partying with his girlfriend the night before. He waits for his partner Maradona but then realises that he isn't going to show. Maradona is the only one that knows the trail pretty well. El Negro sends Mendez two other people to replace Maradona for this trip, but they don't know the trail as well as Maradona knows it so they follow. They drove to the border and exited the vehicle once it was time to start walking. Mendez and the group arrive to the Devil's Highway much earlier than he expected and he knew that the heat would have a great toll on them but decided to keep walking anyway so that they could get to the United States faster. ]]> 2022-02-23 16:33:39 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2062943083 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2064901603 Mendez and his group begin to tackle to route known as the devil's highway. At 11:30 pm, Mendez sees flashing light that shock him and instantly comes to the assumption that it was immigration. He yells "La Migra!" to the whole group and they all try to run and hide, leaving behind bags clothes and water, basically all their necessities. This false alarm contributes to Mendez going the wrong way the rest of the time as he kept going left. After they were rescued and Mendez put the blame on Border Patrol, they came out and found their footprints to conform we was indeed veering left. ]]> 2022-02-24 16:34:47 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2064901603 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2067238708 The Yuma 14 men are still lost in the desert and are really starting to feel the heat. Of course we know that some of the men will cook in the sun which will leave to their deaths, but he also tells us about the different side effects you feel when your being cooked alive. He also shared two stories of these two white couples who seemed well off and weren't in the desert to cross, but to do something they enjoyed. The first couple drove into the desert on their dune buggy. Later it broke down and the husband went to go get help. He was found dead on the ground around a mile away from his wife who was sitting the the broken dune buggy. The second story was about this couple who decided to pull over and walk into the desert to hike it. His wife was found dead on the trail and border patrol assumed that he left to try and go get help for his wife, but he slipped and never got up. No matter what race you are, you are apart of this horrendous game once you enter the desert because unfortunately the sun doesn't discriminate. ]]> 2022-02-26 03:26:41 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2067238708 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2071855303 Mendez is walking this the Yuma 14 men into straight death. At this point the men are fully aware that Mendez has no clue where he is going but still continue on following him in hopes of finding salvation. Santos, one of the other guias, tells the group that he wants to live and tell the group that if they retrace their tracks then they can arrive back at Mexico. Mendez is lost but is too arrogant and cocky to admit it, so he refuses to stop and demands they keep going. Santos and a group of about 3 to 5 men leave and haven't been seen or heard of since. ]]> 2022-03-01 16:45:03 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2071855303 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2073945327 The author uses this chapter to tell us about what got them to do on this treacherous journey. By reading this chapter it seems that they all got taken advantage of by Don Moi and got scammed as he was charging people more money then he was charging others. I believe that the author gave us the names and backgrounds of all the men so that we could get an understanding of why they decided to go on this dangerous trip. I also think he did that so that we could be less desensitized to hearing about their story.  In the book, they would always be referred to as the Yuma 14 or the Wellton 26 but now that we know their names and their history then we are able to feel more now know that most of them aren't going to make it to the United States. ]]> 2022-03-02 16:36:56 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2073945327 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2076229620 In this chapter, the walker fully realise that Mendez has no idea where he is going. Mendez knows that they know so he comes up with a plan, or so he says. He tells the walkers that if they give him all of their American Dollars that him and Lauro will go and find water and help. He told them it wouldn't take longer then 5 hours. The men waited. The sound of coughing, grunts, and heartbeats filling the air around them. They soon came to the conclusion that he wasn't coming back, so they walked. They tried to follow Mendez and Lauro's footprints to see if they could find the way they were going. During the walk men would see delusions of God and their families thinking that they finally made it to their happy place, instead they only came to make it to their final resting place. ]]> 2022-03-03 16:50:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2076229620 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2078240760 The men that Mendez abandoned decided to go and walk. They saw a lone Migra car in the distance that brought them hope, but they were too far away to grab their attention, so they came up with a plan. They decided to start multiple fires in hopes of grabbing someone's attention so that they could get checked up on and get saved, but the plan did not work. Helpless, the men continued. Some of the men were too weak and too sick to continue. One by one men died. Edgar Martinez, Abraham Morales, Reymundo Jr., Reymundo Sr., Julian Ambrose Malaga, Rafael Temich and one nameless man aren't able to make it out of the desert alive and die of Tuesday, May 22nd. ]]> 2022-03-04 16:32:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2078240760 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2082085800 Wednesday, May 23rd is finally the day the men have been waiting for. Agent Mike F. was cutting the drag when he found new foot prints that led him to the men. Unfortunately, most of the men found were deceased. So of them were alive and were able to see hope coming to rescue them but were unable to board the helicopter alive just like the 16 year old who was a part of the group. Mendez and Lauro were also found by La Migra. Mendez was alive but seemed to be dead at first and Lauro was found deceased. The men who were found alive were then airlifted out of the desert and given the medical attention they needed. ]]> 2022-03-07 16:47:47 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2082085800 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2087397405 As we know, the men were rescued and were sent to the hospital. Most of the immigrants that are found and taken to the hospital are not considered arrested unless said otherwise. If they are detained then their medical treatment is paid for by the government, so most of the time they don't consider these illegal immigrants to be arrested so that the government doesn't lose anymore, which ultimately makes them the hospital's problem. Unfortunately, this results in millions of are dollars spent each year. As the men were in the hospital recovering, the police came in to question them about what happened. They all knew that if they pointed fingers at El Negro and the Cercas gang, their families would be put at risk, so they had no problem throwing Mendez under the bus. ]]> 2022-03-10 02:50:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2087397405 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2088716213 Rita Vargas helps the men as much as she cans because she has started caring dearly for these men and their cases. This time they were considered under arrest and had guards outside patrolling them. These men and their cases was different then any other ones that they had seen, so they were not going to Mexico, well not yet. They finally had what they wanted. They had the chance to prosecute Rooster boy who helped kill more than a dozen of men. They had struck a gold mine. Mendez tried his best to cover up his tracks and give reasoning on why he did what he did but if anything it made it even worse for him. The bodies were transported to Arizona and examined, each of them having a stand out feature that distinguishes them and gave us some perspective into what their life was like. ]]> 2022-03-10 16:35:07 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2088716213 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2090775318 After all the men put the blame onto Mendez, he was now being prosecuted for his role in the deaths of the men. Mendez was very cocky and confident that we would be able to wiggle his way out of going to jail but he had no angle. His lawyer and him decided that the only angle they really had was to blame it on Border Patrol. Their reasoning being that they had multiple chances to find and help them but probably didn't want to investigate it. He then realised the severity of his case and that if he were to continue fighting then he would get the death penalty, so he pleaded guilty. On the other side, Vargas went to the United States to transfer the bodies home but left that same night because the Mexican government made their arrival into a big ceremony so that it would look like they actually cared. ]]> 2022-03-11 16:49:26 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2090775318 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2096258456 The men were granted to stay in Phoenix, Arizona because of all their testimonies against Mendez. That case and their testimonies landed him in prison. They were also given an apartment where all the men were housed and were even given jobs at a meatpacking plant with the promise that they would never have to work in the hot sun again. These men helped the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico at the border. Until 9/11 happened, the border was much more restricted and pretty much locked as they wanted to catch as many bad guys as possible. This caused more walkers and coyotes to cross the devil's highway to make it to the United States which ultimately caused more death. ]]> 2022-03-15 15:42:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2096258456 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2098321660 The Devil's Highway was changed because of the story of the Yuma 14. Border Patrol funded and provided new ways to help walkers stay safe. They implemented safety towers, stations with water and food, and more. This new implementation did not go well with many people, so some of them would go into the desert themselves just to vandalize and make it harder for the Immigrants to make it safely. This also started up the argument of whether immigrants take away money from the U.S. or bring in more. ]]> 2022-03-16 15:45:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2098321660 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2100319407 In this section, The author Luis Alberto Urrea talks about the changes that happened ten years after the book was written. He talks about how odd it is to be talking to all these people about the book as he didn't think it was going to be read by a lot of people. Luis talks about how he regrets using the term illegals in such an angry and bold manner. At the time he was writing the book he said that illegal border crossing had gone down, but now in recent years, we know that it has gone up tremendously. He also mentions that after writing the book that he actually became very good friends with various Border Patrol agents and some people would even come up to him and confided in him by telling him they were undocumented. ]]> 2022-03-17 15:36:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2100319407 jmilano1001_2 https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2102134256 In this last section, Luis Alberto Urrea discusses multiple encounters he's had AFTER writing the book. He also talked about how the only repercussions is as much as a speeding ticket and that they is no official federal law against illegal immigrants. He also tells the reader that he had actually had an encounter with Don Moi before he knew who he was. After the book Don Moi went back to try and extort the families of the fallen men, but they were way more tough then he thought them to be. They gathered local men who beat him senseless until he begged for his life and fled. He also told us about a heart warming interaction that happened between Reymundo Barrera's nephew who wrote to him and actually expressed his gratitude for how he wrote their stories. ]]> 2022-03-18 15:29:30 UTC https://padlet.com/jmilano1001_2/cg73g72g4ptyqqk/wish/2102134256