The road to the United States is paved with danger for tens of thousands of immigrants who come here illegally. Heavier enforcement in urban centers and along the Arizona border has made south Texas the latest hot spot for illegal crossings. One of the highest migrant death rates in the nation is in rural Brooks County, 70 miles north of the border.

Mónica Ortiz Uribe is a native of El Paso, Texas, where she recently worked as a freelance reporter. Her work has aired on NPR, Public Radio International and Radio Bilingue. Most of her stories examined the effects of drug-related violence across the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Previously, she worked as a reporter for the Waco Tribune Herald in Waco, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in history.