al jazeera's heidi zhou castro spent 24 hours on the border of texas.hares her thoughts about her day on the front lines of the immigration debate. >> reporter: the border at midnight. quiet, dark, and full of travelers. border patrol agents arrest an average of more than 600 a people a day here. that's two for every mile of river. on this night, though, it is quiet. the migrants remain hidden from our cameras. this is the rio grand, nothing standings between us and exco. >> yeah, we're going to be heading out to the back roads up along the rio grand river. >> reporter: the border is where frank rodriguez grew up. and within five minutes we spot two young men sprinting across the path. we have the same problem as border pat reel, the land is too fast. we lose them. this brush is the perfect hiding space for migrants trying to escape border patrol. you can barely see the daylight. >> i understand they are trying to survive. that's why they are out here. i would do the same thing, you know. if i was starving and hungry i would want to go somewhere i could

heidi zhou-castro met a migrant who told her he's crossing today. the 15-year-old said he made arrangements with human traffickers to take him into the u.s. heidi zhou-castro met with him in rann oweso mexico, near the texas border. >> reporter: it called to him, the united states. this boy is steps away from reaching his goal. so chose, yet so far away. you are so close to your dream. it makes him happy, he says. he's sad because there's no one in the united states to receive him. he's trying to decide whether to cross or return to his parents and seven siblings in honduras. he was 14 when he left his family's one-room house with an ambitious of finding a job in the u.s. and sending money home. he struck off alone carrying nothing but two changes of clothes, and $9.50 were selling a wild h ark r. since then he had a birthday. one he had forgotten about. >> he troubled through a tropical storm and witnessed the murder of a pregnant girl on what migrants call the death train. "i jumped off in time. the girl wouldn't let the gangsters take her, so they

heidi zhou-castro met a migrant who said he is crossing the border, and he made arrangements with human traffickers to take him to the u.s. heidi met with him near the texas border. >> it called to him, the united states. ryan is steps away from reaching his goal. so close, yet so far away. you're so close to your agreement. it makes him happy, but he's sad because there's no one in the united states to receive him. these trying to decide whether to cross or return to his parents and seven siblings in hopped. he was 14 when he left his family's one-room house with a naive ambitious to find a job and send money home. he struck off alone, carry nothing, but $9.50. he has had a birthday, one he had forgotten about until his mother called to remind him. fresh are on the boy's mind are memories from his journey. he troubled through a tropical storm and witnessed the murder of a pregnant girl on what migrants called "the death train." >> i jumped off in time. the girl wouldn't let the gangsters take her so they pushed her off. the train ran her over. he cried and asked god for help. he sees i

the crisis conditions and the desperation will continue as well. >> heidi zhou-castro reporting from. >>> many people in central america are desperate to escape because of violence. one of the most dangerous places is san pedro sulo in hopped where gages carry more -- gangs carry more weight than the government. yesterday a group of 40 mothers and children were deported back. it was the first group of central american children sent home as the u.s. cracks down on undocumented immigrants. paul beban returned from honduras and has been cog this story about the children who made it to the u.s. from san pedro sulo and joins us in the studio. after being in honduras and watching what is going on, the violence that is occurring has been happening for weeks and weeks. it continues to drive people into the united states. it's been happening for years and goes back to happened in the 1990s, as the u.s. worked the drug trade. what happened is it shifted to central america. honduras, a country the size of tep. a country coming into the u.s. goes through honduras, it's a country the seize of ten

heidi zhou castro, al jazeera, texas. >>> there is no way of knowing how many choose to stay hidden andented, but that possibility along with rumors of special permits are enough to convince central american residents to gamble and try to cross the border. paul? >> that's right. it's a gamble to leave, it's a gamble to make it across mexico, and a gamble to try to cross the border. but it's the consistent rumors of a permit that are making these people try to find a way to stay in the country. the journey comes full circle here. day and night, one, two, sometimes as many as ten or 12 buses pull up here, dropping off hundreds of dirty, dehydrated, exhausted hon dur ans. >> we have entire families coming back from mexico. they were on their way to the u.s., and didn't make it. they have been brought back to this government shelter. some have family members here to pick them up, others will be transported to another shelter. we saw young children coming off seemingly by themselves. why did they go north now? many of them told us about a rumor that has made its way south. >> we went because

heidi zhou castro reports. >> reporter: a dispatch call on a remote stretch of highway, 70 miles northe border. >> a22, 419, they are coming up on 755. >> reporter: this is a typical night in books county texas, a corridor of human smuggling where according to the sheriff's office 300 people are smuggled through a day. a few miles up the road that car in front of us was seen dropping off a group of migrants. they don't often stop smugglers,esmugglers smugglers,est -- especially here, where four deputies patrol 944 square miles. this deputy is among the reserve deputies, commissioned officers who work for no pay. >> i'm telling you right now, i know what you are doing down here. >> reporter: this suspected smuggler, though, will get away, he said he took out the back seat to haul a washing machine. and those footprints on the floorboard, they could be anybody's. >> get out of my county. he has done it before. you can tell he is cool about it, and he knows i don't really have anything -- unless we find some illegals and they put him as the driver, that's about the only thing. >> reporter

heidi zhou castro is joins us from dallas.nd you had the chance to talk to a young man who was contemplating crossing the border and day do so today. what did he say? >> this young boy, a 15 year old who i met at a shelter on the mexican side of the border, he tells me he is either at a stash house or could be crossing the rio grand into the united states today. these policies being discussed in washington, d.c., it's very difficult for them to have a direct impact on an individual's decision. it appears in this case nothing could change this child's mind. it calls to him, the united states. he steps away from reaching his goal so close, yet so far away. you are so close to your dream. and it makes him happy, he says, but he is also sad, because there's no one in the united states to receive him. he is trying to decide whether to cross or return to his parents and seven siblings in honduras. he was 14 when he left his families house with the naive ambition of finding a job in the us. he struck out with nothing but two changes

for more on this let's go right to heidi zhou castro in dallas. heidi?ow this buyer who has purchased this kurdish crude in the past has not said that they are actually the buyer for this shipment per se is lindel basso. they have purchased two shipments from the kurdish government in may, and it says it has not broken any laws, but it has canceled any future transactions. so what still remains unclear is what happens to this one million gallons aboard this vessel. we heard from the kurdistan regional government that that has been legally sold. however, payment normally for these kinds of things isn't exchanged until 30 days after delivery. well the oil has not been delivered and most likely will not be delivered thanks to a warrant signed by an american federal judge in texas who has authorized the seizure of this cargo. right now it is sitting 70 miles offshore since this weekend. and the u.s. marshall says it is monitoring the situation, and if that ship comes within 12 miles of the coast that's when marshals can board and confiscate the cargo, ali. >

heidi zhou-castro is in brooks country, texas. >> a land rover... . >> reporter: a dispatch call on a remote stretch of highway, 70 miles north of the border. this is a typical night in brooks country texas, a corridor of human smuggling where, according to the sheriff's office, 300 migrants pass through daily. >> our gouty pulled -- deputy pulled over a suspected smuggler. south of the checkpoint, the car in front of us dropped off a group of migrants. they don't often stop smug alreadies -- smugglers, the people known as coyotes. especially here with four goouties -- deputies patrol an area nearly the size of rhode island. george is among the reserve deputies, commissioned officers working for no pay. catching coyotes is his favourite part of the job. >> i'm telling you i know what you're doing. >> this suspected coyote will get away. he tells police he took out the back sheet to halt a washing machine, and the footprints - they could be anybodies. >> he's done it before, you can tell. he's cool about it. he knows that i don't have - unless i get - unless we find someone and they pu

heidi zhou-castro reports from dallas. >> 1,000 texas national guardsmen are deployed to the rio grande valley. what they won't do according to governor rick perry is target the migrant children who have been overwhelming border patrol since earlier this year. perry says he's seen this humanitarian crisis firsthand and he says it's taking border patrol resources away from catching criminals. >> i will not stand idly by while our citizens are under assault and little children from central america are detained in squalor. we are too good a country for that to occur. that is why today, i am using my executive authority as governor of texas and activating the national guard. >> reporter: perry says the federal government has failed in its duty to secure the border. a criticism he's launched time and time again against the obama administration. now this national guard buildup will be funded by state money, $12 million a month and perry says he expects to send that bill to the federal government and he expects to be r re r rei. >> paul beban is on this story, paul. >> border patrol agents awa

heidi zhou-castro reports. >> reporter: water in the desert. >> it's our source of living. >>> and it'sanishing. the lapped was lush and green when this man's father started in farm 30 years ago. >> the flats from the river brought a lot of good soil to it. >> reporter: after four years of drought it was a waist land. two-thirds are useless. in the dream of becoming a premier producer, it is crumbible, just as the voil. seeing it like this. what does that do to you. >> it hurts. >> delgado farms gets 100% of irrigation from here, the rio grand, which normally would be above my heads. now it's a strictle. nature is -- trickle. nature is only partly to blame. the explanation can be found 100 miles upstream in new mexico. the farmers also depend on the rio grarned, but they have a -- grand, but they have a distinct advantage. during the drought third generation farmer ken holbrook uses water pumped from his well to irrigate his peckan trees. >> these trees are pumped, getting nothing but pump water. >> reporter: but hyde row geologists say the wells are drying up the aquifer, causing the r

they were not always wrong much as heidi zhou-castro reports. >> reporter: after six days of travel andhree days of detention. 20-year-old cindy clutches her son in one hand, a plastic bag containing her hope for the future in the other. immigration officers dropped off the mother and child in texas, moments ago. inside the bag is a permit to remain in the country for 30 days. that's when a judge will decide whether to deport them back to honduras. "getting in the country feels good", but she didn't come to feel good, she came for a better future for her sop and herself. border patrol picked them up after crossing the rio grand on a raft. what was the end of a dream is now a detour. she and her son is free, holding bus tickets to join relatives in florida. with detention centers at triple capacity and more than 16,000 central american immigrants arriving in the rio grand valley u.s. immigration officials drop off 500 women and children at the bus terminal each day. she says that she had heard rumours that single mothers and children were allowed to stay in the u.s. that's why she came n

heidi zhou-castro reports. >> reporter: water in the desert. >> it's our source of living. >> reporterand it's vanishing. the land was lush and green when efron's father started this texas farm 30 years ago. >> the flats from the river brought a lot of good soul to it. >> reporter: after four years of drought, it's a wasteland. two-thirds of the 120 acres are useless. and the dream of becoming a premiere producer of organic lamb is crumbling, just as the soil. seeing it like this, what does that do to you? >> it hurts. it hurts. >> the farm gets 100% of its irrigation water from here, the rio grand, which in normal years would be above my head. now it's a trickle and nature is only partly to blame. the explanation can be found 100 miles uptram in new mexico. farmers here also depend on the rio grand, but they have a distinct advantage. during the drought third generation nex can farmer ken uses water pumped from the wells to irrigate his peckan trees. >> these are pumped. these get nothing but pump water. >> reporter: but hydrogeologists say the wells are drying out the aquifer under t

heidi zhou castro, mission, texas. >> no fix for general motor.euters reports the car maker has ordered] dealers to stop selling models because it doesn't are a fix for a faulty ignition key. another recall in late june. this year, general motor recalled nearly 15 million vehicles. during a hearing on it this week on capital hill, senators and gm executives clashed over the road ahead. randall pinkston has the story. >> i now live a life of chronic pain and limitedabilities. >> before the latest senate hearing, the trail of tears from gm's faulty ignicians took center stage. survivors and families of victims describing injuries and deaths when cobalts and other gm cards lost hours and airbags failed to deploy. >> he has to live the rest of his life bound to a wheelchair. after nine months of his childhood were stolen due to him being hospitalized, i often ask myself: why? >> robert buzzard blamed gm for not revealing to customers or federal regulators fatal problems with ignition switches. >> opinion echoed by the senate commerce subcommittee hold

heidi zhou-castro, al jazeera, the texas/mexican border. >> coming up, pro-palestinian protests are beingeld in major cities around the world, and we will take you there. >>> welcome back to "al jazeera america." i am richelle carey. here is a look at the top stories. israel approved a 24 hour extension of a cease fire in gaza. the army says it will continue destroying tunnels along the border. palestinian groups in gaza have not yet responded to the announcement. more rockets and mortars were fired into israel from gaza following the ends of a previous cease-fire. the sedate department evacuated am bats doors to tripoli. it has grown more violate which officials say poses a risk to american security. americans are being told not to travel to libya. the dutch government has identified the first victim of the malaysian airlines flight 17 disaster. no information about the dutch national who has been released but the government says family members have been identified. 200 are working to identify human remains from the wreckage. the plane was downed over ukraine killing 298 aboard. back to