Nusly and all the Migrants, part 4
Nusly and all the Migrants, part 4
Safe and sound in Kansas City ...
After two and a half days on different Greyhound buses Nusly and Jefferson were met by family members in Kansas City, Kansas where the temperature was minus nine degrees fahrenheit. Because of their itinerary change they had a seven hour layover in Dallas where cousins of mine met their bus. They fed them, took them to the Salvation Army and the Burlington Coat Factory so they had appropriate clothing for minus nine degrees and gave them some cash and food for the road.
They now have a roof over their heads, hot water and a family support system. Now Nusly needs to use the immigration app to change her address and, on Wednesday, submit a photograph to confirm her address. The family members who have provided housing are putting out feelers for work and efforts are being made to get Jefferson enrolled in school before he turns eighteen in February.
It has come to my attention that the US government at some point provided “over the phone” therapy for Nusly. Perhaps it was the day that she asked if she could offer Jefferson for adoption. Or was it another really bad day? Clearly, she has made a lot of bad decisions and is dealing with tremendous guilt over leaving her other children and her dying father. Not to mention compromising her parents’ home with a loan that is already in default. And believing the lies told to her by so many who stood to benefit from her departure for the United States. And not earning any money for three months. But gladly, her son grew up overnight and took charge encouraging her to leave the situation in Delaware. He is educated and tech savvy so he will be able to help his mother adjust to this new life.
What I have learned through all of this is that immigration, in Guatemala anyway, is a huge business and the people who go, for the most part, are pawns, victims. The coyote tells lies to get people to go. He has friends up north who will make promises of work and then hold people hostage. None of them care what happens to these people. They are chattel. The banks are happy to mortgage properties which they know they have a good chance of foreclosing on and the biggest beneficiary of all is the government of Guatemala which, last year, reaped $20 BILLION in remesas, or funds sent to Guatemala by Guatemalans living abroad. That number represents some 20% of the country’s GDP. $20 billion is clearly helping to drive the economy. Does the Guatemalan government has any incentive to curtail immigration? None. And the United States has an endless supply of cheap labor without which the price of food, among other things, would skyrocket. Does the US government have an incentive to curb immigration apart from the politics of it? Not really.
Once upon a time when I was a flight attendant for Pan Am and Reagan was encouraging companies to abuse their employees the airline created a “B” wage scale for new flight attendants. I worked side by side with flight attendants who earned half or less of what I earned and who had few if any benefits. Why doesn’t the US create B scale jobs (the ones that Americans don’t want that immigrants are already filling) that non-citizens, non-residents are eligible for. Let them apply. Bring them out of the shadows. Deduct a bit for taxes and a health plan. Let them come and go legally. No eligibility for other “A” level jobs. No benefits beyond health coverage of some kind.
If it weren’t for the politicians I think this problem could be solved.