Photojournal: El Gusano, a living ghost town

Natalia Ramirez’s outhouse is decorated by US licence plates – a record of the many US states her son-in-law has worked in to raise money for his family back in Mexico.

His remittances helped pay for Mrs Ramirez’s outhouse.

Most men heading to the US vow to return once they have made some money.

But many stay for years, if not for ever, unable or unwilling to risk crossing back across the border, a perilous and often costly undertaking.