Following the theme of illegal immigration as featured in this year's Go Big Read book, a humanitarian worker from Oaxaca, Mexico discussed dangers migrants face when migrating from their Latin American homes to the U.S. Monday.
The humanitarian worker, Nancy Garcia, provides food and shelter at a safe house for migrants from Central America and Mexico trying to reach the U.S., called the Center for the Orientation of Migrants (COMI).
COMI also helps to educate migrants of their legal rights to prevent them from being deployed back to their home countries by migrant officials.
More than 50 migrant shelters like COMI surround both the southern and the northern borders of Mexico.
Statistics say 85 percent of migrants are men, but Garcia said she does not like to categorize all migrants by numbers.
""Migrants are not a statistic, they have faces and dignity,"" she said.
She said many migrants, especially children and women, seek shelter in the U.S. to prevent family members engaged in gang-related crimes from harming them.
Despite the rampant violence, Garcia said the primary cause for escape is because wages are low in Mexico and Central America.
According to Garcia, most migrants choose to cross boarders by riding atop cargo trains because they do not have the money to pay for a ticket on a passenger train.
She said another struggle migrants face is the media's negative portrayal that all migrants are associated with criminal behavior.
COMI helps educate the community and authorities that migrants are not all criminals, despite media coverage.
Garcia said a law passed in Mexico in March, which prevents criminalization of citizens who assist migrants in reaching the U.S, is a step in the right direction, but said they still have a long way to go.
