audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - A new surge of unaccompanied children from Central American countries is expected at the U.S. southern border, as officials ask Congress for more money to handle them. Customs and Border Protection estimated 75,000 children may arrive at the ports of entry before the end of the current fiscal year. Already, the number of minors arriving at the border is growing, with 20,000 apprehended at the border in the first five months of the federal fiscal year - double the number from a year earlier.
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Aug. 14, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - Fleeing the alcoholic and drug-addicted father of her child, NADIA failed twice to enter the United States. Finally, on her third attempt, Nadia crossed the border with her 1-year-old daughter to live with her mother. ’I had a lot of problems buying milk for [my daughter] during the trip,“ she says. Nadia, 20, and her infant daughter are in a pending immigration case. While the court decides her and her daughter's fates, Nadia wears an ankle monitor, which she was forced to don as a condition of her release from a Texas detention center.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 24, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - At age 13, GISSELL wants the chance to prove her worth in society. 'I think it's really important to tell our story,' she says. Gissell's father left for the United States from her native El Salvador when she was three years old. She spoke to him every day, but dreamed of the day when they would meet again. When she was 12, she came to the States to reunite with her father. 'I believe the hardest thing was separating from my sister and my mother,' she says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 26, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - What I brought from my trip. DAISY grew up in a farming town in the Guerrero state of Mexico. When she was 10, she was the victim of an assault. 'That night changed everything about my life and my childhood. My mother told me that it was a nightmare, but what happened to me wasn't a nightmare.' The assailant was never identified. Daisy received little to no support following the trauma, and as a result, began cutting herself. This continued after her border crossing until she started receiving counseling through the public school system. 'And finally they believed me,' she says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

Aug. 26, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - Like many immigrants, for security reasons SARA couldn't tell any of her friends in El Salvador that she was leaving. One day, her and her brother simply picked up and left. They now live together with her sister. At 19, Sara is in her final year of high school. Upon graduation, Sara will continue her job waiting tables and sending money to her parents, who remain in El Salvador. Despite her humble position, Sara dreams of studying to become a doctor. 'There aren't excuses for not dreaming,' Sara says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 30, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - For three days and two nights ERMINIA walked through the desert in her socks. On her first night walking through the Texas desert, Erminia's shoes fell apart. She spent the subsequent three days and two nights crossing the desert wearing only her socks. 'There were so many thorns,' she recalls, and I had to walk without shoes (across) the entire desert.' Erminia migrated to the U.S. two years ago from El Salvador when she was 15 years old. She dreams of being a family lawyer.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 30, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - From a young age, ANTONIO loved aviation. At age nine, his grandparents forced him to quit school and work as a fisherman. He protested, but they beat him repeatedly until he complied. Antonio was able to leave Guatemala five years later with the help of his mother. 'I ran to hug her and didn't let go and started to cry and cry. I didn't remember her, only from photos and talking on the phone.' Antonio, is in the process of applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, an option for children who were victims of abuse or neglect in their home countries. He is doing well in high school, learning English, and still wants to be a pilot.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 23, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - On her first night walking through the Texas desert, ERMINIA'S shoes fell apart. She spent the subsequent three days and two nights crossing the desert wearing only her socks. 'There were so many thorns,' she recalls, 'and I had to walk without shoes (across) the entire desert.' Erminia migrated to the U.S. two years ago from El Salvador when she was 15 years old. She dreams of being a family lawyer.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 23, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - DAISY grew up in a farming town in the Guerrero state of Mexico. When she was 10, she was the victim of an assault. 'That night changed everything about my life and my childhood. My mother told me that it was a nightmare, but what happened to me wasn't a nightmare.' The assailant was never identified. Daisy received little to no support following the trauma, and as a result, began cutting herself. This continued after her border crossing until she started receiving counseling through the public school system. 'And finally they believed me,' she says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 24, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - A ring, is the only thing GISSELL keeps as a memory for her trip. At age 13, Gissell wants the chance to prove her worth in society. 'I think it's really important to tell our story,' she says. Gissell's father left for the United States from her native El Salvador when she was three years old. She spoke to him every day, but dreamed of the day when they would meet again. When she was 12, she came to the States to reunite with her father. 'I believe the hardest thing was separating from my sister and my mother,' she says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 26, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - At age 13, MAURICIO'S mother paid to bring him across the Mexican border. He was passed between several coyotes, and nearly fell victim to a scam. 'A (coyote) told me that if I didn't want to walk, I had to pay seven thousand dollars,' he says. Mauricio was able to call his mother for help and safely reunite with her. Now he wants to value her sacrifice and succeed in his new home. 'For me, the American dream consists of overcoming, of happiness, and of reunification with your family.'
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 26, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - KARINA hid money on a hair scrunchie during the whole trip from El Salvador to the USA in the case of an emergency. Building up strong family relationships after being separated for a long time is complicated,' says Karina. Karina was raised by her grandmother in El Salvador and didn't meet her biological mother until she was 10. As a result, Karina (now 18) doesn't have as strong a maternal connection with her mother as with the family she left behind. This problem is prevalent among the 'Unaccompanied.' 'I left my grandmother and I did all this sacrifice for something better, so I have to make it worthwhile,' she says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

Aug. 26, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - During his first attempt at immigrating to the United States, MARVIN was arrested and slept on the floor of a Mexican prison for four weeks. He was 14. 'They gave us disgusting food. There were a lot of people in just one room,' he remembers. On his second attempt, Marvin was held in a house with other immigrants by the Mexican military, who found their coyote nearby with drugs. 'I've had someone point a gun at my head and threaten to kill me,' he says, describing the experience. These traumatic experiences imprint themselves on many of the 'Unaccompanied', but Marvin's story turned around upon his entrance into the US. He graduated from high school as salutatorian and received a full scholarship to a university.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

Aug. 14, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - Fleeing the alcoholic and drug-addicted father of her child, NADIA failed twice to enter the United States. Finally, on her third attempt, Nadia crossed the border with her 1-year-old daughter to live with her mother. 'I had a lot of problems buying milk for [my daughter] during the trip,' she says. Nadia, 20, and her infant daughter are in a pending immigration case. While the court decides her and her daughter's fates, Nadia wears an ankle monitor, which she was forced to don as a condition of her release from a Texas detention center.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

Aug. 5, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - My older brother always dreamed of coming here. As one of nine siblings, it wasn't ADELSO'S dream to make the journey from his native El Salvador to the United States, it was his responsibility. Two weeks after he arrived on US soil, Adelso, 24, got a job in a restaurant. He now works in construction and lives with relatives, but his siblings and parents remain in El Salvador and receive his economic assistance. Francisco's dream of pursuing architecture is on hold for the moment. 'Were here to do the best we can', he says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

July 26, 2015 - Washington, D.C, U.S - 'Building up strong family relationships after being separated for a long time is complicated,' says KARINA. Karina was raised by her grandmother in El Salvador and didn't meet her biological mother until she was 10. As a result, Karina (now 18) doesn't have as strong a maternal connection with her mother as with the family she left behind. This problem is prevalent among the 'Unaccompanied.' 'I left my grandmother and I did all this sacrifice for something better, so I have to make it worthwhile,' she says.
© Oliver Contreras/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire