The dividing line: On the U.S.-Mexico border, President Biden faces a political crisis. Migrants face a fight to survive.

This interactive photo essay with audio explores the fight to survive for migrants traveling to and once at the US Mexico border, and the root causes of migration.

Excerpts from the essay:

This is the place where two worlds collide. The desperation of Central American migrants and the politics of the United States. Migration has surged to its highest level in years, driven by violence, poverty — and hopes for a new U.S. president.

“Those folks are in their houses, at least they have bread to eat, they are eating well, they know what they are going to do every day. Not us. We have to see where we can find food to eat, who gets to sleep in the bed and who’s on the floor. They discriminate against us without understanding how much we are suffering.” — Ángela from Honduras

“In our case, it’s Russian roulette. We die if we try, and we die if we don’t. In my country, the crime is very extreme: rapes, femicides, homicides, suicides. Because, with the president we have — and it’s not just the president, municipal authorities and congresspeople are involved. In my case, I had to flee because they had already tried to assassinate me.” — Elin López from Honduras

Mexican traffickers transport families over the Rio Grande on rafts. The migrants leave a trail of possessions behind.

To view the photo essay and listen to the audio, go here.