Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
Mexico
June 7, 2007

Casa del Migrante Nazareth, is a migrant shelter in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, were migrant's, mostly from central and south America, can receive three days of free food and shelter. The house is run by a Catholic priest, nuns and lay clergy of the small, nearby church of Saint Joseph, patron saint of workers. Most migrants spend a month jumping trains to arrive at this shelter on the USA Mexican border. Many come in contact with violent gangs and Mexican authorities that can beat and rob them while on the trains. To cross the Rio Bravo river into the United States they usually are in the hands of Mexican Coyotes, guides who bring them across for a fee. Nuevo Laredo is a border city that has fallen victim to a surge of drug related violence. It has been called the murder capital of the world.