DALLAS -- Twenty-three-year-old Magdala Gonzalez left her beloved hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, in search of a good job and safe surroundings. She found them in Fort Worth, Texas, where she is an intern at Telemundo TV station.
Her job is temporary, but she hopes to return after finishing her bachelor's degree at Tec de Monterrey.
"My family and I have talked about moving here," she said. "They came to visit in February for a month. They were impressed at how everyone goes out with no fear of being robbed or shot. They're hoping that I can graduate and get a job here."
Gonzalez is part of a growing exodus of middle- and upper-income residents of northern Mexico who have uprooted themselves and moved to the United States to escape the violence engulfing parts of their homeland, according to a study by students at four universities led by the University of Texas at El Paso. And their destinations extend well beyond border cities.
