Every year hundreds of thousands of people walk across the desert borderlands south of Tucson. During the past several weeks MobileWest has been recording stories of migrants heading north in search of work, as well as aid workers, human rights activists, and priests who put out water and food for those making the dangerous journey.

In the summer months when the desert reaches temperatures of up to 115 degrees, people continue to make the arduous border crossing, often hiding by day and then walking by the light of the moon. If they are picked up by border patrol and deported, most repack their bags, patch their blistered feet, and start again. One theme we heard repeatedly and was eloquently expressed was, “If we returned home, what would we tell our families? What would we feed our families? We will continue crossing, even if we die trying.”

Pictured above are the hands of two StoryCorps participants, one of whom told the stories of his seven border crossings in and out of the United States.