The social and economic costs of migrating from Central America to the United States are increasingly higher. The rates charged by smugglers have risen; in Mexico, Central Americans run a serious risk of being kidnapped, and if they manage to successfully cross the US border, they must remain hidden to avoid deportation. This article, based on a qualitative methodology that includes in-depth interviews with thirty-five migrant smugglers who take Central Americans to the United States and fifty migrants from Central America, seeks to respond to the following question: Why do Central Americans run the risk of traveling through Mexico to reach the United States if the cost and risk of suffering serious aggression are so high, and the probability of success very low? It concludes that the driver of this phenomenon is the economic support of employers helping migrants from Central America to cross the US border. © 2015 by the Latin American Studies Association.

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