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Taking on the outlaw economy
By Moisés NaÃÂ*m

November 12, 2005

EVERY NIGHT, Fortuna Garcia sings a lullaby to her daughter Carmen as the 6-year-old goes to sleep in her grandmother's house in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Fortuna lives in Gaithersburg, Md., and has not seen Carmen since she left Bolivia three years ago. But every night, using a prepaid calling card, she can sing Carmen to sleep for less than a dollar.

And every month, Fortuna sends about $300 to her mother, who takes care of Carmen. Fortuna's remittances have helped refurbish her mother's home and paid for the operation that saved the life of her sick niece.

Fortuna is one of the 500,000 foreigners who enter the United States illegally each year â€â€