Jose was born in El Salvador. His mother moved to the United States in the late 1980s, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents. He lived in a remote village and never attended school. In December 1993, Jose, his sister, his two brothers and his aunt were attempting to illegally enter the United States to join his mother. As part of a large group, they traveled 2,000 miles north to northern Mexico and crossed over in a remote desert area in southern California, near San Ysidro. Just after everyone had slipped under the border fence, someone yelled "policia" and the group scattered, and Jose became separated from his family. After everyone had gotten together again, he was missing.