How can Mexican migrants reduce the risk of being abandoned by smugglers while clandestinely crossing the US–Mexico border?

Abstract This article analyzes the abandonments of Mexican migrants by their smugglers while crossing clandestinely the US–Mexico border. Drawing on the Emif-Norte survey, we examine the diversity of forms of abandonments and their adverse impacts to migrants while crossing the border; we discuss the agency capacity of migrants to anticipate and control the migration process in order to manage the risks of clandestine travel; and we use a logistic regression model to analyze the role played by the selection of the smuggler and the physical fitness of migrants in the risk of migrants to be abandoned by smugglers. Our findings suggest the presence of migrants with profiles vulnerable to abandonment (i.e. women, not having previous migration experience to the USA, hiring smugglers in border towns, or paying low smuggler fees), and preventive and protective strategies to reduce such risk (i.e. hiring smugglers in the place of origin, physical training prior to the journey or traveling accompanied by family members and friends), which are within the reach of some migrants more than others.