ends back home. Westerbeek notes that these funds are “a direct inv! estment into the economies of these countries, and nations such as El Salvador end up with an economy that is heavily dependent on the dollars from Salvadorans living in the U.S.”
Undocumented Immigrants Suffer Exploitation
Although the prospects for financial success in the United States initially seem abundant, many immigrants encounter unanticipated difficulties upon arrival. Lacking official immigration status, undocumented workers have no legal rights and thus no defense against exploitation in the workforce. “They are part of an underground economy that exploits them,” asserts Westerbeek. “They are frequently paid low wages or they are not paid for all or some of the work they perform. They have no rights. They do not exist.” In addition, undocumented immigrants cannot access the safety net of public services enjoyed by legal immigrants and naturalized citizens. They have no right to welfare, healthcare, or insurance to! protect them in case of medical or economic difficulties.
Adriana Hernandez_ whose husband and uncle paid a coyote nearly $4,000 each to travel illegally to the United States_ did not hear news of her loved ones for over a month after they had left their home in Quetzaltanango, Guatemala. She later learned that her husband was in the U.S. for 3 months before he found work. Even now his temporary low-paying jobs do not allow him to send money home to his family. Her uncle, meanwhile, is not able to work at all since cutting his finger in a meat slicing factory, after which his employer fired him immediately without covering related medical expenses. The entire Hernandez family is now in dire economic straights as Adriana’s parents mortgaged their house to send the! ir relatives across the border. “We thought it would be worth it to pay the coyote because we didn’t realize the obstacles they would face,” laments Adriana. “They thought it would be easy there.”
In addition to the economic suffering, Adriana and her child endure the emotional pain of separation from husband and father. Yet she claims to understand his reasons for leaving. “He wanted his child to have everything,” says Adriana, “to live well, to receive an education, unlike us. That’s my husband’s dream, to buy a small piece of land, build a house on it and raise his family there.”
Many who oppose the U.S.’ strict immigration policy argue that Central Americans have a right to follow dreams such as those of Adriana’s husband. Human rights organizations are lobbying the United States Congress to pass legislation that would legalize the status of many undocumented immigrant workers. Whether or not the U.S. government chooses to ease restrictions on immigration remains to be seen. One thing seems certain, however: despite the obstacles, Central Americans will continue to enter the United States in the hopes of escaping poverty in their native countries.