More Ecuadorians move to US spared many others hurdles

SPRING VALLEY, New York (AP) — Kléver Ortega and Cristina Lema had a good life until COVID-19 crippled Ecuador’s economy. Ortega was a house-painting contractor and there was work until demand dried up in the pandemic. The entrepreneurial couple launched a pair of food stands. “Then the pandemic hit those, too,” Lema said. With unemployment, instability and crime rising, they decided to leave for the U.S., following many friends, family and acquaintances. “We used to hear it in the street: ‘They left. Look who else abandoned their business and took off,'” Lema said. “That’s when we, too, told ourselves, ‘We…