It's a dangerous journey for Central American children on their way through Mexico, heading toward the United States while catching a ride on a train.
And there's little to prevent them from falling through the cracks.
Some of these migrant workers say it's dangerous, but a price they're willing to pay to free themselves from crime back home.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SALVADORIAN MIGRANT, CECILIA, SAYING:
"We also know there are risks in traveling like this, like we are on the train right now. However, in my country children are also in great danger due to the high crime rates that exist there (El Salvador)."
Conditions no child deserves to live in -- but motivation for this 12-year-old Honduran migrant to pursue a brighter future elsewhere.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 12 YEAR OLD HONDURAN MIGRANT, TRAVELING ON HIS OWN, FRANKLIN, SAYING:
"What I want is to progress and be someone of greater significance. I don't want to stay like this, like everyone says, a failure in their country."
Migrant shelters in Mexico have a recent seen an influx of child migrants, whose parents try to use their children as a peg to get them into the United States.
But some children make the trek on their own.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says more than 47,000 mostly Central American unaccompanied minors have poured into the United States between October and May.
