Lawrence Journal World in Lawrence, Kansas

Migrants' dollars build Mexican village mansions and hope

In Boye, Mexico, families reshape lives with money sent from the United States. A woman who waited tables in Hickory, North Carolina now enjoys a 10 room mansion with Roman pillars, while others endure leaky roofs as many youths cross deserts to work in the U.S. The piece notes record remittances of 20 billion dollars last year, and explains how migrant labor funds schools, churches, and brick homes, even as a local official says up to 80 percent of boys drop out to cross the border.