Washington D.C. (February 1, 2023) -- A new video from the Center for Immigration Studies highlights the role the Mexican cargo train system, “La Bestia”, plays in transporting migrants from deep in Mexico to the U.S. southern border. Tens of thousands of mostly Central Americans and Venezuelans travel on the “death train”, getting a free ride north and avoiding Mexico’s temporary visa requirement.

Todd Bensman, the Center’s senior national security fellow, narrates his video that starts with the migrants jumping the trains in Monterrey, Mexico, 250 miles from the U.S. border. Past presidents, like President Obama, realized that U.S. border numbers are fueled in part by the large number of migrants riding "The Beast” and successfully worked to have the Mexican government crack down on the dangerous practice. President Biden met with the president of Mexico recently, but there was no public mention of stopping this popular illegal path to the U.S. border.