Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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It is a pity that President Joe Biden doesn’t know Isidro. Perhaps if he had the opportunity to talk with this Guatemalan worker who lives in San Cristóbal-Verapaz, it would change his perception of how to solve the problem of mass immigration to the United States from Central America.
In December, I was part of a film crew for a documentary in Alta Verapaz, where I talked with many people about the reasons why, in this region of Guatemala, there are far fewer residents who make the difficult decision to leave behind their families and their roots to start a journey full of dangers and uncertainties to the United States.
One of those people with whom I spoke was Isidro, who should be invited to the White House to explain his adventures in immigration to the United States — his trip to nowhere that had a happy ending almost 20 years ago.
Isidro, 40, is a happy man, married with three children, a homeowner with a stable job as a manager in a local factory. Today he is happy, but it wasn’t always like that.
In 2003, married only a few years and with his children very young, Isidro had no job and hardly a roof over his head for his family. A friend told him about the possibility of going to the United States, and Isidro didn’t think twice. The American dream would be the solution to his problems, he thought. He would work hard, buy a house and bring his family someday. In those dreams, he visualized himself happily driving a motorcycle in California.
But some dreams turn into nightmares almost at the speed of light. The one who would take him to the promised land disappeared after months of demanding several payments for travel expenses. At that moment, Isidro’s life was filled with darkness. Defrauded and humiliated, he felt that he had failed his family, which he barely could support. But a miracle happened — the Cobán shoe factory, located in his town, accepted him as an apprentice.
“I wanted to emigrate to the U.S. to have a motorcycle, and now I have three,” Isidro tells me. They’re parked in front of the house, which he bought with his savings. The factory where Isidro is in charge employs more than 800 people. Most incredible, 70% of his production ends up on the feet of U.S. citizens.
Brands like Wolverine, Rhino and Hush Puppies have entrusted their production to Guatemalan workers. What would happen if the example of these North American companies’ decision to outsource production spread throughout Guatemala and into other Central American nations? Isidro’s case would not be an exception.
Nobody emigrates and leaves their country on a whim. That is something Biden — and politicians on both the right and left — should be clear about. It seems that the entire immigration program in this country began and ended with tightening or relaxing border control, and the questions of how to handle deportations or what to do with people who are in limbo.
But Isidro’s example demonstrates that the most urgent issue to be resolved is in the country of origin, the place from which migrants depart.
According to data from the Guatemalan Immigration Institute, more than 27,000 citizens left the country between January and July of 2021 for the United States. About 300 people a day play Russian roulette on this journey that begins with hope, but whose end is uncertain.
The United States should take into account the example of San Cristóbal-Verapaz, an oasis where work and growing prosperity have curbed uncontrolled immigration. Promote investment by American companies in Central America.
Uncontrolled illegal immigration from these countries must be stopped, and what better way than to bring wealth and jobs to these allied countries of the United States.
Manuel Aguilera is founder and CEO of the HispanoPost Media Group. He is a former executive editor of Univision’s online platform.
