Migration and deportation

Migration, from El Salvador to the US, will continue to be a major issue for both countries in 2011 as in past years. Salvadorans continue to enter the US, legally and illegally, seeking opportunity or the chance to be reunited with family members who had gone before. To understand some of the statistics surrounding this human stream, a good source is the recently published study of Central American Immigrants in the United States. The study is the product of the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute and provides a comprehensive look at the who, what and where of Central Americans now living in the US. Among many other facts, the study points out that persons born in El Salvador are now the 6th largest group of foreign born migrants living in the US. (The top 5 are Mexico, Philippines, India, China and Vietnam).

The increased level of deportations under current enforcement of US immigration policy resulted in continued record numbers of returns in 2010. There were more than 18,700 Salvadorans deported from the US during 2010. And as 2011 started, the first flight of deportees arrived in El Salvador on January 3 with another load of 106 Salvadorans. There are an average of 4 to 5 flights a week arriving in El Salvador, completely filled with deportees.