The Struggles and Risks of Immigrants to the United States in Enrique’s Journey

Eight years after the publication of her very successful book, “Enrique’s Journey”, Sonia Nazario decided to personally experience the journey that all migrants undergo when crossing into the United States. Nazario resolved to face the same dangerous threats that migrants encounter when they ride atop the train, called “The Beast”. “Enrique’s Journey” presents the struggles and hazards that migrants endure in order to reach the United States. Nazario explains that not just adults, but young children as well, are crossing borders regularly to reunite with their mothers or family members.

In the journey, Nazario reports, many migrants are robbed, murdered and raped; some do not survive the attempt to board the moving train. Enrique, the protagonist in the book, undertakes this perilous journey to the United States in order to see his mother again. Coming from a needy family and a treacherous part of Central America, he leaves everything behind in Honduras to journey through Central America and Mexico. Some argue that Enrique’s troubles are self-inflicted due to his obstinacy, while others contend that he is a victim of circumstance. In my opinion, Enrique is a victim of his situation, having been abandoned, lacking a father figure, and as a result of corruption in Central America and Mexico.

Enrique is a victim of circumstance because he was abandoned. Enrique’s mother, Lourdes, decided to leave Honduras and go to the United States to send money back home so that Enrique and his sister Belky could attend school and have enough to eat. Lourdes resolved to journey to the USA, planning to return to Honduras within a year, but she never came back. Lourdes left when Enrique was just 5 years old, and as she was saying farewell to an averted Enrique, she walked to the veranda and left without bidding him goodbye. Enrique came to believe that his mother didn’t love him, which is why she left without saying goodbye. Enrique stayed with his father and grandmother, and after a while he stopped missing his mother and began to help his father work. However, as he grew older he became more rebellious, feeling that if his mother truly loved him, she wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. Enrique felt victimized because he lacked his mother’s love, her absence at school events such as Mother’s Day tormented him. This feeling of being unloved by his mother, who had left him behind, worsened his behavior at school and his relationship with his grandmother.

Another example of the consequences of conditions is Enrique not having a father figure. Enrique’s father had multiple women in his life. One of these women lived with Enrique and his father, and she treated Enrique poorly, thinking of him as an economic burden. One morning during breakfast, she threw hot cocoa on Enrique, burning him. His father expelled her from the house, but not for long. After a few days, Enrique’s father confessed to Enrique’s mother that he couldn’t live without this woman and decided to go after her and start a family. So, he packed his belongings and left. Enrique pleaded with his father to take him along, but his father left him behind with his grandmother, forgetting that Enrique needed him, especially given that his mother was no longer there. Enrique was left feeling unloved and abandoned by both his parents.

Enrique also became a victim of corruption in Central America and Mexico. During his journey to the United States, he was apprehended by the authorities and detained – a situation that led him to risk escaping from prison to avoid being sent back to Honduras. While crossing the border, Enrique was beaten up so severely that he could barely walk, and he had to rely on the help of others who took him to a hospital for recovery. However, he feared the hospital staff would inform the police about him and he would be sent back to Honduras. His experience in Mexico certainly didn’t live up to his expectations. The local people treated him poorly, offering him neither help nor food and drink. Enrique lived in constant fear of being robbed or killed by gang members while travelling alongside “the beast”. His journey illustrates how he was a victim of theft and gang violence simply for trying to cross the border.

Some might assert that Enrique is the root of his own problems due to his obstinacy, while others might argue that he is a victim of circumstance. I believe that Enrique is victim of circumstance – he was abandoned, had no father figure, and suffered from corruption in Central America and Mexico. Enrique represents many Central American immigrants who, like him, were left behind in their home countries while their parents relocated to the United States. Americans should consider that some children are crossing the border just to be with their parents or relatives. If they have no one left in Central America, they should be allowed to stay, but only after verifying their circumstances. If they have no one in America, resources should be allocated to assist these children. More focus should be given to improving security and increasing awareness of what’s happening across Central America. This book was successful in making its point clear – it details the dangers faced by young children and older people crossing the border to the United States. Moreover, it highlights the number of children crossing over to reunite with their families and the dangers they face in their home countries along with their economic struggles.

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