Jonathan Goldstein

When they didn't find anything, they let them go.

Yamilis and Daniel had heard about a train that carried migrants from Mexico City to the American border.

The train was referred to as La Bestia, the Beast.

It's also been called the Train of Death.

Passengers ride on top of freight cars.

Loss of limbs, maimings, even death occur as people try to board the moving train.

The family was told by other migrant travelers where to wait for the train.

They waited and waited.

And if I fell, the train could kill me.

When the train came to a full stop, Yamilis took it as a sign.

Through the cold at night and the heat during the day, Yamilis and her partner stayed awake, holding on to the children.

Falling asleep meant running the risk of being shoved from the train, or simply falling, which could mean instant death.

So for five days she hung on.

No bathroom, just a pot.

No proper food, just what they could catch.

And no sleep.

In this way, Yamilis spent her birthday.

She was turning 34 years old.

The train finally stopped in Juarez.

People had been killed.