9 - US State and Civil Society Responses to Salvadoran Refugees, 1980–1991

Summary

This essay places the narrative of Salvadoran migration to the United States within the broader context of Reagan-era anti-Communism, US immigration and border restrictions, and civil society. It first assesses the varied reasons for Salvadoran migration to the United States during the 1980s and the Reagan administration’s response. It then examines responses by civil society, focusing on the role of social service and grassroots advocacy organizations in both challenging the US government’s Cold War narrative and aiding in the social, economic, and cultural integration of refugees. This essay draws upon case studies from the metropolitan Washington, DC, area, home to the third-largest Salvadoran population in the world. Ultimately, it argues that the Reagan administration’s refusal to grant asylum status to Salvadoran immigrants in the 1980s both galvanized civil society in the United States in support of the refugees and severely retarded the ability of Salvadorans to gain social acceptance and political legitimacy in their new country.