The majority of Mexicans who travel to the U.S. illegally come from rural villages where living conditions are terrible. Families live in small shacks, and usually don’t have indoor running water or plumbing of any kind. Due to poor living conditions and unemployment, the best option for many Mexicans is to try and make a new life in America.

The treacherous journey to America is well depicted in the film El Norte. Mexicans must put themselves in extremely dangerous situations to cross the border, and in recent years, border patrol has become increasingly more strict, forcing Mexicans to pursue risky methods of traveling to the U.S.  Since it’s proving impossible to prevent illegal immigrants from trying to cross the border, some organizations have sprung up in order to help these immigrants.