Immigration is a very messy topic. It
seems that everyone has an opinion, some voiced louder than others. Some more
informed than others. I don’t claim to have any solutions, but I do believe
that to form our opinions we need to strive to be informed. We need to
understand the “why” behind the continued flow of people across our borders
from the south. For this reason, I am compelled for some unexplainable reason
to share with you what I continue to learn through the relationships I have
formed in Guatemala.
It is estimated that remittances (money sent) from Guatemalans living in the United
States (some with legal status, some not) to
family living in Guatemala totaled $8.2 billion dollars in 2017.
This is more than
double the revenue from the top four Guatemalan exports combined.
Textiles = $1.3M
Sugar = $825k
Bananas = $783k
Coffee = $748k
The $8.2 billion dollars in remittances is also more than
the combined total of the top 22 exports of Guatemala.
Further,
It is estimated that 1.7 million Guatemalans receive remittances
(remesas in Spanish) from people living in the US. AND 6.2 million people
benefit from them. For perspective, in a country of 16.6 million people, this
represents almost 40% of the population who receive benefit from money being
sent from relatives in the US.
Source: No Hay Otra Varita Magica (There is no other magic
wand). Written by Fritz Thomas www.prensalibre.com
I was speaking to a business man who lives in the Ixil region where we work. I was asking him about the impact of "remesas" coming into the area. He told me "remesas create a false economy. The slow grow we see in our communities is falsely built upon money coming from family in the states. If that should stop, the economy would crumble."
