San Pedro Sula , Honduras ( CNN ) -- Tossed in a truck , robbed . Dumped at a house . Held for ransom . The 14-year-old traveled alone by bus from his home in Honduras , through Guatemala , into Mexico , where his dream of reaching the United States was cut short by a band of criminals . Nehemias said his family was forced to pay $ 2,000 for his release . He had nowhere to go . `` I turned myself over to ( Mexican ) immigration authorities . I did n't have any more money . They took all the money . They took everything I had , '' he told CNN in San Pedro Sula , Honduras . Dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt , the teen spoke softly . `` I was told ( by the kidnappers ) that if I ever came back , the fine would double -- that it was dangerous -- and I would n't make it back to my home country , '' he said . While the Obama administration is focused on unaccompanied minors who make it to U.S. soil , Nehemias -- one of dozens of children Mexican authorities sent back to Honduras this week -- represents another , larger , problem . ' I want to be with my mother ' Thousands of children never make it as far as the United States . This year alone , 4,500 unaccompanied minors from Honduras have already been detained in Mexico and deported , according to the Honduran Institute for Children and Families , or IHNFA . They end up here , at an IHNFA facility in San Pedro Sula , Honduras ' most violent city . The processing center is surrounded by a 6- or 7-foot cinder block fence topped with rings of barbed wire . The children arrive by bus and , once inside , wait for family members to claim them . Only legal guardians with proper documentation can cross the fort-like fence and walk out with a child . Unclaimed children stay in on-site dorms until a family member can be reached . The beds are simple ; the ceiling is open . There is no air conditioning , but at least it 's safe . `` I want to be with my mother . I have n't seen her in eight years , '' said Francy , a 15-year-old girl , who cried as she spoke about her trek north . She made it as far as Veracruz , Mexico , and was about to hop on the final bus ride to the U.S. border when she was detained by Mexican immigration authorities . They sent her back to Honduras . `` I was scared because as a woman traveling alone , I did n't know the intentions of the men in the group , '' she said . CNN is not publishing her last name , nor that of Nehemias , because they are underage . Francy says her mother , who lives in Memphis , Tennessee , had paid someone $ 3,000 to take her across the border . `` We are told to say we are traveling alone , '' she said . And if Mexican officials asked for documentation , Francy was supposed to bribe them with pesos . Her trip ended , she says , when the bribe fell short . ' I do n't want to go back ' Why are so many children risking their lives to move to the United States ? A recent United Nations report that interviewed 400 young immigrants points to a difficult and complicated web of reasons , including violence , poverty and the desire to reunite with their parents or other family members . `` We are trapped because of the thuggery in our communities , '' said Natalia Lopez Manuelez , who lives in Las Brisas , a neighborhood in San Pedro Sula . She said her community of about 3,000 residents was constantly raided by gangs looking to assault , rob and kill . Her neighbors described horrific tales of of men stripping homeowners of everything they owned and even killing for the thrill of it . `` If you were held at gunpoint and you did n't give up everything you owned , they would kill you , '' said security guard Mario Aquino Vasquez . Las Brisas residents got so fed up with the violence they created a neighborhood watch group and built gates . Today , armed guards stand at the entrance , blocking people who do n't live there from getting in . `` Little by little we cleaned up the neighborhood , '' said Vasquez . But poverty remains . Dirt roads connect homes that are patched with corrugated iron . Many of the houses have no windows or doors . The residents are part of the more than half of Hondurans who live in poverty . It was that lack of opportunity that Nehemias was trying to escape . He wanted a better life , but said he wo n't try again . `` I do n't want to go back . '' the teen said . `` I want to stay in my country and leave the rest to God . '' Inside San Pedro Sula , the 'murder capital ' of the world . Daniel 's journey : How thousands of children are creating a crisis .
Thousands of children never make it as far as the United States . The U.S. government has been accused by human rights groups and others for failing to protect migrant children. Poverty , violence push them north ; the journey is dangerous .