The Devil's Highway Sparknotes

In Mexico, it is normal for people to attempt to cross the border north, in hopes for a better life. The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea, an award-winning piece of investigative journalism, is a multifaceted look on the issue of Mexican migration and the factors involved; be it the border patrol, the United States and Mexican governments and their policies, and the Coyotes, a criminal organization known for human smuggling. Urrea’s text tells the story of a group of illegal Mexican immigrants known as the Welton 26, and their Coyote guide: Mendez, charged for the suffering of these 26 men and the deaths of Yuma 14, who cross the border and enter the perilous region known as the Devil’s Highway, a barren desert known for its inhospitable,

often deadly, environment. In this text, the Welton 26, the border patrol, the courts, and the prosecutors all seek someone to blame. But who is truly at fault for this? Who, or what caused the suffering of the Welton 26, and as a whole the thousands more who have suffered and died in their attempts to cross the border? The source of all that suffering was determined by examining multiple sources in order to collect information on the topic.

Firstly, the book The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto, being the dominant source of information used to support the conclusion. The 800 Mile Wall directed by John Carlos Frey, a film on the effects of the US government's border policies, and the methods they implemented on stopping and deterring illegal immigration. The Other Side of Immigration, directed by Roy Germano, a look at the Mexican perspective on immigration, their economy, and why they would want to immigrate. After a thorough examination of the source, a conclusion regarding which party is reprehensible for the deaths of the Yuma 14, and for the larger issues resulting from migration as a whole. While it is often believed that Mendez is to blame for occurred, due to the crucial mistakes he made which lead to the suffering of the Welton 26, and the deaths of the Yuma 14. While certain groups do deserve a blame for their actions, ultimately the group's holding the most blame for this specific tragedy, and migration as a whole is the United States government and the Mexican

government.
When determining who is to blame, an obvious target that appears is the Coyotes, and more specifically Mendez, his real name being Antonio Lopez Ramos, the guide for the Welton 26, however much of the evidence supposedly proving Mendez’s guilt are weak testimonies or reasons that can be traced to issues on a larger scale. A common argument made accusing Mendez was that he did not prepare the Welton 26 for their journey, he did not warn them of the dangers, nor did he tell them to bring adequate water. In actuality, Mendez himself was not all that prepared for the journey. Mendez only received training about the trail, nothing else, he was not warned about the dangers of the desert, nor what to expect from a prolonged stay, so how can he warn his group if he himself didn’t know. Maradona, Mendez’s partner, went missing before the crossing began, and Maradona was an experienced guide. When Mendez informed his boss of this, he sent two others two in his place; “It says a lot about Maradona that he has to be replaced by two other [guides.]” (Urrea 100). Having lost his valuable partner, and saddled with two more liabilities, Mendez is forced into a leadership role. Under the pressures of the Coyotes, the growing anger and frustrations of the group, Santos’s mutiny, and the heat exhaustion resulting from the terrible conditions of the insufferable Devil’s Highway, it is completely reasonable that Mendez would make a mistake, all these varying pressures and the delirium caused by the deathly heat can easily explain Mendez’s impaired judgment and lack of care for the Welton 26. The various circumstances Mendez found himself in and the conditions of the trip made a sort of perfect storm in which so much went wrong.
The Coyotes can also be easily be targeted as being the one to blame for Welton 26 as well as the migration issues.

The Coyotes are a criminal organization, specializing in human smuggling across the border. The Coyotes treat their guides and clients as expendable, for “every week, walkers are left to die by their [guides]. It is so common that it must be seen as a standard Coyote practice. A business move.” (Urrea 68). And there are many instances where Coyote guides cause the deaths of the people of those they were guiding, as well as bystanders. The Coyotes extort people for whatever they can, taking their money and land, and threaten the lives of families of those who cannot pay. While the Coyotes have committed heinous deeds, and are a major factor in the suffering of the Welton 26, as being the organization that recruited them, they were merely a result of much larger issues at play. The existence and growth of the Coyotes as a human smuggling organization is a product of Mexican people’s desire to immigrate

north.
A nations governments hold immense control over the wellbeing of their citizens. Through careful decisions, a government can help prosper or wreck havoc on the quality of life their citizens have, and the lives of the people in other countries. The US and the Mexican government are the major factors leading to the suffering of not only the Welton 26, but of all the migrants and the Mexican citizens. It all starts with NAFTA. In 1994, NAFTA was put into effect, put into place under the guise of improving trade between the US, Canada, and specifically Mexico by reducing trade barriers between the three countries. However, despite the seemingly promising future this trade agreement might offer, it had terrible consequences for Mexico’s population. With an increase of American imports, Mexico’s trade deficit grew, and with so much cheap produce, Mexico’s farmers could not compete with such cheap prices and over 1.9 million farmers lost their jobs. According to The Other Side of Immigration, between 1970-2007, the amount of immigrants increased from 760,000 to 12.7 million, that number increased greatly in part by NAFTA. Further back in time in the 1950s and 1960s, is when the US was in great fear of the spread of communism. They were so afraid that they would meddle in the affairs of Central American countries, secretly sabotage foreign elections and governments if their leader had the slightest leanings toward communism. The US would then put in place corrupt dictators in their stead, heavily destabilizing these third-world countries, and undermining their development for years to come. The US government had put millions of dollars into Operation Gatekeeper, the border patrol was well funded, and in the funding was a promise for an identification system for repeat offenders, which could help identify the guides for the Coyotes. If that IDENT system had been in play as it should have in the case where Mendez was in the border patrol’s custody, “If the [border patrol] had realized who they had in the holding pen, the Yuma 14 might be alive today.” (Urrea 91). According to The 800 Mile Wall, the goal of Operation Gatekeeper was “prevention through deterrence”. Their method of deterrence was by heavily increasing border defenses in suburban areas, and funnel them east. By pushing them east forced them to travel through the harsh, deadly conditions of the desert, a fact that the US government well of, even preparing predictions on the death rates of migrants. Instead of increasing border patrol, the US should improve the immigration process, for if their methods were efficient than people would not have to resort to such illegal and dangerous methods. The US had a chance to assist Mexico with NAFTA, but instead they worsen their economy, putting them into a worse condition than they were before.
Mexico’s economy is in shambles, their people are leaving in droves, and the government is not doing much in way of supporting their suffering citizens. In the city of Veracruz alone, “the people were killing themselves working the ranchos on the outskirts. The fisherman couldn’t catch enough protein in the sea. The cane cutters couldn’t cut enough cane. The small peasant farmers couldn't get good enough prices to cover the costs of planting and harvesting their coffee . . . But it was mostly the collapse of the coffee prices.” (Urrea 44). The Mexican government is doing nothing to support in any major ways. In The Other Side of Immigration, the Mexican federal government does send some funding to the local governments in order to subsidize local businesses; however, corrupt officials do not notify the populace that they have this funding available and they play favorites as to who can even receive it. With so little support from the US, who realize how terrible Mexico’s economy is, and exploit it, and their own government, Mexican citizens are forced into the position where they have to immigrate north if they want even the slightest chance of having a good life.
Overall, the US and the Mexican government are majorly responsible for the suffering of the Welton 26, and the deaths of the Yuma 14. In the current day, little has changed. Mexico is still in bad shape, and the number of migrants continues to increase along with the death rates. The United States President Trump has further increased funding to border patrol and all organizations affiliated. He also claims that he will build a wall, and will make Mexico pay for it, but no significant headway has been made toward this plan, and relations between US and Mexico have become fractured, due in no small part to President Trump. However, there is still a chance for improvement. NAFTA can be removed or modified, the migration process can be modified, nothing is set in stone, things can still be improved. The problem is that the governments are doing little to make theses changes, and to improve. Though in all likelihood, the chance of any significant improvements to Mexico is extremely unlikely.