Undocumented immigrants in their full humanity
Lauren Markham documents the bravery of two migrant brothers from El Salvador—and their mistakes, too.
In Review
The Far Away Brothers
Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life
Crown
As Ernesto and Raúl Flores, teenage twin brothers from El Salvador, attempted to cross into the United States, they found themselves lost in the desert on the northern side of the Rio Grande. Raúl’s shoes were falling apart.
“Here.” Ernesto yanked off his shoes and demanded Raúl do the same. “Take mine.”
Raúl obliged. Ernesto pulled Raúl’s shoes onto his own feet and undid the laces, winding them around the bottom of the soles to hold the halves together, then tied them as tightly as he could.
