Ann Wagner: Foreign aid can keep Guatemalsns from making dangerous trip to U. S.

(From Second District Congresswoman Ann Wagner)

Last week, I traveled to Guatemala to meet the U.S. Embassy’s Migration Working Group and explore how foreign aid is helping alleviate the migration crisis on our southern border.

Ninety percent of Guatemalan migrants come to the U.S. to expand their families’ income. But Guatemalan families told me they desperately want to create economic opportunities in their own country. 

I met youth who are trying to make a living in agriculture and handicrafts but have no access to formal banking; with the help of the U.S., they established a savings and loan program to lift their village out of poverty. 

I also met Sandra, an indigenous Mayan woman who built an agricultural cooperative that employs 500 women and exports vegetables to Trader Joe’s. I met many indigenous women who are healing from domestic violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking thanks to American assistance. 

U.S. foreign aid gives women and youth the training and opportunities they need to achieve prosperity in Guatemala and not make the dangerous trip to our southern border.