MONTERREY, Mexico — Graced with Lone Star brands like H-E-B, Whataburger and 7-Eleven, this affluent city in northeastern Mexico is home to global conglomerates and posh neighborhoods, enjoying strong economic and cultural ties to Dallas-Fort Worth. It’s a mere two-hour drive from the Texas border.
Francisco Contreras, who migrated here from Guatemala, has grown fond of Mexico’s third-largest metro, with its wide avenues, skyscrapers and plentiful jobs. Then there are the smuggling organizations. They’ve offered to take him to the United States, he said, to a choice of destinations.
It was late summer. Standing outside a faith-based shelter, borrowing a cellphone, he pointed to a map of border cities within a short ride. He said he’s in no “real hurry” to continue his journey to North Texas, where he knows many other Guatemalans working in construction.
