For undocumented worker, getting to America only half the battle - An undocumented Guatemalan who lost an arm in T accident still believes he can earn enough here to build a big, new home for his family

“For years, money from Pittsburgh flowed to this quiet village of cornfields and dirt roads in the verdant central highlands of Guatemala, where good jobs are scarce.

With it, Diego, a subsistence farmer, was able to buy food and clothing and medicine for his ailing wife. He started construction on a two-story house with four bedrooms and space for a small store.

Then, abruptly, the money stopped. The house is now a shell of cement blocks and iron bars with knee-high weeds growing in what was to be a living room. The family’s main source of income comes from sewing the long, heavy skirts traditionally worn by Mayan women. It brings them just dollars a day.”

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