Guatemalan Ambassador to the United States Nazario’s Editorial

The editorial by the Guatemalan ambassador to the United States Nazario is a powerful and heartfelt statement on the deportation of a fellow Guatemalan citizen, Filomena. The article is filled with many compelling and relevant arguments. Aside from the obvious political motive, the article also focuses on the importance of immigration reform. This is especially true in light of the current migrant crisis.

Filomena’s return to Guatemala would take nearly three months

It would take nearly three months before Filomena Nazario returned home to her family in Guatemala, after being kidnapped in the United States. Her father was trying to get her back to their home. But the narco-traffickers were everywhere. They weren’t extorting farmers or impoverished families. And the local gangs that ruled San Juan Ixcoy had ties to the Zeta Cartel in Mexico. This was just one of many stories of people fleeing gang persecution or fear of their lives.

If a five-year-old girl can be kidnapped and deported from the United States, just imagine the horrors of kidnapping a child from a developing country. Then add in the threat of being killed or tortured. That’s a terrifying prospect for any family. For this reason, many people and their children are forced to leave their homelands in the hopes of avoiding the death and destruction that can come from being a victim of narco-traffickers.