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Agosto 11, 2004
Northward or Bust
Take a look at a world map, and you will see that Bolivia and the United States share no common border (hopefully you know that without having to take a peek at a map). Bolivia does not even have access to the sea making it very unlikely that a dozen or so hopeful sailors would pile into a balsa boat made from totora and attempt to reach United States soil looking for greener pastures.
Official 2000 Census numbers recorded a total of approximately 42,000 individuals of Bolivian descent living in the United States. Considering that just in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area (Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs), rough estimates place this number closer to 90,000. It is easy to see that there exists a large population of undocumented Bolivian immigrants. With growing communities in Houston and Rhode Island, this number of U.S. citizens, residents and undocumented individuals must hover around 200,000.
Before 9/11, the easiest way for Bolivians to arrive in the country illegally was to secure a tourist visa, take a flight into the country, allow said visa to expire, and then stay, while continuing to work odd jobs or acquiring a fake social security card. However, now in order to secure the same tourist visa, a Bolivian must have a thorough formal interview with Embassy officials in La Paz and submit information about family members, bank accounts, current job status, and property ownership. Many young adults have been denied tourist visas due to the perceived probability that they will stay.
With these tighter restrictions, now Bolivians who want to come to the United States, must now take actions normally reserved for Mexicans and Central Americans, who cross the Rio Grande. Recently thirteen Cochabambinos were picked up by the border patrol, attempting to cross into the Arizona desert.
This shift in methods for crossing into the United States just shows the lengths that Bolivians, and other Latin Americans, take to pursue better opportunities for their families. The amount of remesas (money sent from immigrants to family members in their home countries) is estimated at 340 million dollars. Representing a large part of the Bolivian economy, this cash infuse definitely keeps the current numbers of Bolivians who leave at a lower level than it could be. These totals from remesas include the money sent from the United States, Spain, and Argentina (where the number of Bolivians once reached one million), the countries with the highest rates of Bolivian emigration.
No one ever wants to leave their home country, but the availability of opportunities forces people to look elsewhere. Ask any Bolivian anywhere, and they'll tell you they have an extended family member living in el exterior.
Also posted in Living in Bolivia here
Posted by eduardo at Agosto 11, 2004 09:10 PM