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Since October, almost 700,000 people have been detained crossing the border from Mexico into the US, a huge jump on previous years.

The reasons people give for trying to reach the US are varied - family, better economic opportunity, or the chance to escape the threat of violence.

In the interactive bot below, we have focused on the story of one woman, Maria, who represents many of those seeking to make the journey.

Maria is fictional. But everything that happens to her here is based on the real experiences of migrants who have travelled to America, experiences that have been documented by rights groups, journalists and lawyers.

See for yourself the decisions and dangers a migrant like Maria may face.

Follow Maria's journey

Produced by David Molloy and Roland Hughes