Inferno Y Paradiso
A team of CBP agents prepares to enter the underground tunnels in El Paso, Texas, with the objective of locating undocumented migrants.
It's a saying we've all heard in one form or another: “to reap the rewards of paradise, one must first face the fire of the inferno.”
Deep in the dark caverns below the surface of El Paso, Texas, lay an underworld teeming with activity. In the dark recesses of this hidden world, migrants risk their lives seeking the light of life in the United States.
Much of the spaces are tight and cramped with no light to be found. If one finds oneself without a flashlight, it becomes impossible to traverse the caverns. The lack of light essentially transforms the entire structure into a maze, with tunnels that are yet to be discovered.
According to the CBP, poor air quality, claustrophobia, and even flash floods are some of the major causes of death for migrants. During CBP’s deployment to the tunnels, many agents end up saving the lives of migrants from almost certain death. In perilous situations such as these, saving human lives tends to take precedence over issues of detention and apprehension.
While few make it out of the tunnels, a part of them still remains trapped within the hot fires of the inferno. The memories of the maze become forever burned into the migrants’ brains, relentlessly chasing their psyche at every subsequent moment.
