South Texas ranch owners face dilemma in migration crisis

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Central American immigrants sit atop the so-called La Bestia (The Beast) cargo train, in an attempt to reach the Mexico-US border, in Arriaga, Chiapas state, Mexico on July 16, 2014.

In South Texas, migrants make the journey across acres and acres of tough, desert hills and valleys, much of it private ranch land. That often puts local landowners in a tough spot.

The surge of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has hit record numbers, including more than 60,000 unaccompanied children through July of this year.

That puts a burden not only on government shelters, immigration courts and law enforcement, but also on local residents, who are often the first to come into contact with migrants on the border.

That's the case in South Texas, where migrants make the journey across acres and acres of tough, desert hills and valleys, much of it private ranch land. That often puts local landowners in a tough spot.

Reporter Melissa del Bosque recently spent time in Brooks County, Texas. Her latest story from the Texas Monthly and the Guardian is out today.

Read Melissa del Bosque's report, "This is Our Home."