Salvadoran diaspora in Los Angeles
[1] The main wave of immigrants came during the Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s, in order to escape the violence and political and economic instability in the country.
[2] Pico Union and the El Salvador Community Corridor, a part of Vermont Avenue, have the highest concentration of Salvadorans in Los Angeles.
During the civil war, churches were among the first to provide safe spaces for refugees and house them even when they did not have official US government status.
Families are often separated when parents or those able to work migrate to the US and leave children in the care of their grandparents or older siblings.
[7]: 93 Salvadorans first started migrating to the United States after World War I following shipping lines that went to ports in Los Angeles.
About 20-30% of Salvadorans left the country and about half of them migrated to the U.S. the rate of emigration from El Salvador reached a peak of 46 persons per 1,000 population in 1981.
[12] The reasons for which Salvadorans have migrated to United States vary but most of the academic community and organizations such as the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and American Civil Liberties Union believe that migration trends are mostly derived from "direct fear of political violence and persecution.
"[13] According to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, which recorded many events, during the high instability of the early 1980s, there were many political killings, many of which were done by the government.
The U.S was supportive of the Salvadoran government during the civil war due to their mutual dislike of the leftist rebel group FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front).
[14] However, the U.S State and Justice departments argue that increased violence has only caused the economic hardship to worsen which then gives more people more reason to emigrate.
[12] The Reagan administration first refused to classify incoming Salvadoran immigrants as refugees because it believed that they were merely seeking economic prosperity.
[16] La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) was created as a form of security for the Salvadoran immigrants in Los Angeles against the other gangs in the area.
[18] Some of these gang members are undocumented, and when they are deported back to El Salvador, they often join the MS-13 or 18th Street cliques, or they return to the United States illegally.
According to Danielle Renwick, tens of thousands of refugees from the Northern Triangle (Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans) came to the U.S seeking asylum from their violence ridden countries, many of them with children.
This brought about their knowledge and involvement in extortion, kidnapping, turf protection, human trafficking, and illegal drug marketing.
[22] According to Paul Liquorie, “We have seen time and time again people who have been deported returning to the United States because they are already networked into the criminal element that is running the human smuggling routes.”[23] Salvadoran activism was strong during the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992) between the right-wing government and its paramilitary forces and the left-wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and its guerrilla fighters.
[25] After the peace treaty was signed in 1992, the Salvadoran diaspora shifted its focus inward to domestic policy issues, especially those regarding immigration, status in the US, and workers rights.
[26] Salvadorans are also closely following President Obama's plan Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as many youth are facing deportation and loss of status.
[37] Organizations also host trips to El Salvador to teach those in Los Angeles about Salvadoran culture and instill a love for the country.
[40] These remittances account for about 16% of the Salvadoran Gross Domestic Product and go to helping receivers pay for food, education, health care, clothes, and business, land, and real estate investments.
La Prensa Gráfica additionally has a section on the website called Departmento 15 that is devoted to stories about Salvadorans living abroad and international news.
