Asylum seekers have become political fodder in the debate over immigration reform in the borderlands. Just this week, Yuma has been in the headlines as another so-called “wave” of migrants arrived there this week attempting to present themselves to immigration authorities before the so-called “Remain in Mexico” program went back into effect.

Now, a new five-part series from the Arizona Republic is attempting to put a face to the crisis. The series profiles three women that journalists Rafael Carranza and the late Nick Oza met in their reporting in Nogales, Sonora: Elena Ramirez, Antonia Castillo and Josefa Ramirez. They’re from three different countries, in three different situations, but they each left their homes for the U.S. because their lives — and the lives of their children — were in danger.

The Show spoke with Carranza to learn more about the series, and they began the conversation by hearing the story of Elena, a single mother from the Mexican state of Guerrero in southern Mexico.

More Stories From KJZZ

• Diversity visa-holders hope Build Back Better saves their chances
• Mexican government says it failed to protect missing Sonoran journalist