A long journey 1/26 Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, who is eight months pregnant, plays with her daughter Maria, 6, in the river in Tapanatepec, Mexico Reuters 2/26 Alvin holds the hand of his daughter Maria as she receives medical treatment after crushing her finger in a door Reuters 3/26 Eight months pregnant, Erly takes a bath in the river with her son David, 2, in Tapanatepec, Mexico Reuters Maria and David meet their newborn brother Alvin for the first time Reuters 5/26 Erly takes a bath in the river next to her son David while they stay with fellow migrants in Tapanatepec Reuters 6/26 Erly walks with her husband Alvin, carrying their children David and Maria, on the road that links Tapanatepec and Santo Domingo Ingenio Reuters Alvin embraces his son David next to his daughter Maria in Pijijiapan, Mexico Reuters 8/26 Alvin holds his newborn son as they lie on their bed in the dormitory of a church in Tijuana Reuters 9/26 Erly and Alvin board a truck as they hitch a ride towards the US from Santo Domingo Ingenio Reuters A man jogs next to the border wall between Mexico and the US in Tijuana Reuters Alvin chats with doctors about the condition of his pregnant wife Erly Reuters 12/26 David cries as he stands next to his mother Erly, as they stay in a playground with fellow Central American migrants in Tecun Uman, Guatemala Reuters 13/26 Alvin carries his newborn son as he stands next to his wife and talks with friends after a religious service at the church where they are staying in Tijuana Reuters Erly and Alvin receive the Mexican birth certificate for their newborn son Reuters 15/26 Erly walks along the road that links Arriaga and Tapanatepec, with her husband Alvin, and their children Reuters Alvin visits Erly, eight months pregnant, at a hospital in Puebla Reuters 17/26 Erly prepares a meal for her son Alvin in the kitchen of a church where they are staying in Tijuana Reuters Erly is carried to a hospital on a stretcher in Puebla Reuters 19/26 Erly gestures while her husband Alvin helps her to lie down after she was hospitalised for abdominal pains in Pijijiapan Reuters 20/26 Erly carries her newborn son, with her other children, while her husband buys bus tickets to Mexico City at a station in Puebla Reuters 21/26 Erly organises her belongings next to her husband Alvin and their children in the dormitory of a church where they are staying in Tijuana Reuters 22/26 Erly sits with her family and others in the back of a truck as heading to the US Reuters Erly lies on cardboard while she stays with her family and fellow migrants in Tapanatepec Reuters Newborn Alvin Reyes sleeps next to his mother in hospital Reuters 25/26 Maria wakes up next to her father and mother after they spent the night with fellow migrants in Tapanatepec Reuters 26/26 Alvin prays on his knees at the church where he is staying with his family in Tijuana Reuters 1/26 Honduran migrant Erly Marcial, 21, who is eight months pregnant, plays with her daughter Maria, 6, in the river in Tapanatepec, Mexico Reuters 2/26 Alvin holds the hand of his daughter Maria as she receives medical treatment after crushing her finger in a door Reuters 3/26 Eight months pregnant, Erly takes a bath in the river with her son David, 2, in Tapanatepec, Mexico Reuters Maria and David meet their newborn brother Alvin for the first time Reuters 5/26 Erly takes a bath in the river next to her son David while they stay with fellow migrants in Tapanatepec Reuters 6/26 Erly walks with her husband Alvin, carrying their children David and Maria, on the road that links Tapanatepec and Santo Domingo Ingenio Reuters Alvin embraces his son David next to his daughter Maria in Pijijiapan, Mexico Reuters 8/26 Alvin holds his newborn son as they lie on their bed in the dormitory of a church in Tijuana Reuters 9/26 Erly and Alvin board a truck as they hitch a ride towards the US from Santo Domingo Ingenio Reuters A man jogs next to the border wall between Mexico and the US in Tijuana Reuters Alvin chats with doctors about the condition of his pregnant wife Erly Reuters 12/26 David cries as he stands next to his mother Erly, as they stay in a playground with fellow Central American migrants in Tecun Uman, Guatemala Reuters 13/26 Alvin carries his newborn son as he stands next to his wife and talks with friends after a religious service at the church where they are staying in Tijuana Reuters Erly and Alvin receive the Mexican birth certificate for their newborn son Reuters 15/26 Erly walks along the road that links Arriaga and Tapanatepec, with her husband Alvin, and their children Reuters Alvin visits Erly, eight months pregnant, at a hospital in Puebla Reuters 17/26 Erly prepares a meal for her son Alvin in the kitchen of a church where they are staying in Tijuana Reuters Erly is carried to a hospital on a stretcher in Puebla Reuters 19/26 Erly gestures while her husband Alvin helps her to lie down after she was hospitalised for abdominal pains in Pijijiapan Reuters 20/26 Erly carries her newborn son, with her other children, while her husband buys bus tickets to Mexico City at a station in Puebla Reuters 21/26 Erly organises her belongings next to her husband Alvin and their children in the dormitory of a church where they are staying in Tijuana Reuters 22/26 Erly sits with her family and others in the back of a truck as heading to the US Reuters Erly lies on cardboard while she stays with her family and fellow migrants in Tapanatepec Reuters Newborn Alvin Reyes sleeps next to his mother in hospital Reuters 25/26 Maria wakes up next to her father and mother after they spent the night with fellow migrants in Tapanatepec Reuters 26/26 Alvin prays on his knees at the church where he is staying with his family in Tijuana Reuters
She and her family have started on the long path to seeking asylum but it could be months before they get their first interview with US officials. The United States has granted only 13.8 per cent of Honduran asylum claims in the latest fiscal year, compared to 20.9 per cent for asylum seekers worldwide, according to Justice Department data.
If denied, Marcial and her husband, Alvin Reyes, say they would try to build a life in Mexico and possibly in Tijuana, where they are living in a spartan church dormitory whose bunk beds are luxurious compared to the camps where thousands of other migrants from the caravan sleep in tents on hard ground.
Reyes could not make a living as a cobbler in their town in Honduras, so they decided to join the caravan, usually lagging behind while pushing a baby carriage containing their two-year-old son David and their six-year-old daughter Mara. Alvin Jr was born with a shock of dark hair in a hospital in Puebla, Mexico, on 12 November, about six weeks premature.
If they have any asylum claim, it would be related to violence in their hometown, where a shootout at the cantina near their house peppered their walls with bullet holes and killed a man whose body lay in a pool of blood at their doorstep, they said. Marcial and Reyes were not home at the time but were shaken and further motivated to abandon Honduras.
Reuters
