Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press

ARRIAGA, Mexico – For thousands of illegal immigrants from Central America, the long journey to the U.S. starts here, on the groaning back of a freight train they call The Beast.

But these days many don't get too far.

Central Americans without documents have faced increased security within Mexico, including checks on the train for stowaways, since President Felipe Calderón took office. It's also harder for them to head north once they cross into Mexico because of hurricane damage to the train tracks.

Many Mexicans are sympathetic to illegal immigrants from Central America, but the issue still causes some tensions that echo the U.S. debate. Isaac Castillo, owner of the Hotel La Posada in Arriaga, argues that Central American immigrants often end up working in Mexico, where wages can be double the few dollars a day they might earn at home.

"The problem isn't just in the U.S., but in Mexico, because a lot of Central Americans want to stay here and compete with Mexicans for jobs," he said.

The crackdown on Central American migrants has left them searching for new routes. Some pay smugglers $7,000 to go by boat into southern Mexico, then hide in tractor-trailers heading north.

For those unable or unwilling to risk the sea, The Beast remains the only option for the 2,000-mile trip to the U.S.

The long trek begins at the Suchiate river, on the border with Guatemala, where for $1 they cross on makeshift rafts into sweltering jungles.

Then they hike along the destroyed, sun-scorched train tracks to Arriaga for up to nine days. Arriaga, 200 miles from the Guatemalan border, is the closest place to hop a train since Hurricane Stan destroyed the Chiapas-Mayab line.

As they head north, they pay off thieves, immigration officials, police and railroad employees.

Juan Gabriel Ramos, a 17-year-old trying to join his mother in California, said he bribed a federal police officer and an immigration agent before even making it to Arriaga.

"They both told me that if I didn't give them money, they would send me back to Guatemala," Ramos said.

Jorge Guevara, a 21-year-old Salvadoran, said he first rode the train to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2001 and saw 20 people crushed, and probably killed, when cars derailed. He fled and never found out what happened.

"That accident left me in shock, but I kept going," he told a group of first-time migrants. "One doesn't think about the danger, only about getting to the United States. Once I'm there, I'll think about it."

Mr. Guevara said he drove a forklift in Dallas until he was stopped for a burned-out taillight and deported last year.

Olga R. Rodriguez,

The Associated Press