Los Angeles Times

For young dual citizens, an uncharted Mexico

LOS ANGELES - The girl clutched the goodbye card her friend Emily handed her that morning.

"All thou we'll be a few miles apart you allways be my best firend."

Luz Madrigal, 6, sat in the back seat of the car with her little brother Alejandro, heading south to the U.S.-Mexico border and a new home more than a thousand miles away.

Faced with diminishing job prospects and a president who promised to make life harder for them, Luz's mother and father - immigrants in the country illegally - decided to go back to Mexico.

They joined more than 100 people voluntarily returning since January to Mexico with the help of consulates in Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago.

An hour into the drive, Luz watched the urban blur pass by the car window under a gray sky. She pointed out tall buildings a little ways off in the distance.

"Is that Guatarajara?" she asked.

Her mother did not correct her pronunciation of Guadalajara.

"No," she said. "We still have a long way to

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times5 min read
Fireworks, Drones, Travis Scott Hats: USC Hosts Alternative Graduation Event. Feelings Are Mixed
No valedictorian speech. No celebrity speakers. No main-stage ceremony, and no massive graduate walk to “Pomp and Circumstance” before tens of thousands of guests. Instead, the University of Southern California’s graduating seniors — whose traditiona
Los Angeles Times2 min read
Woman Claiming To Be Real Martha Tells Piers Morgan 'Baby Reindeer' Is 'Hyperbole'
Will the real Martha Scott please stand up? At least one woman has now done so: In an interview with British television presenter Piers Morgan that was posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday, 58-year-old Scotswoman Fiona Harvey claims to be the ba
Los Angeles Times5 min readWorld
Commentary: Since The Hamas Attack, Israelis Have Begun Arming Themselves The American Way
Among the core Israeli national narratives that have been fractured by the Hamas terror attacks and months of war and violence is the notion that Israel’s ethos on firearms differs from that of the United States. Both countries can be characterized a

Related Books & Audiobooks