Deported: Salvadoran gang members in Los Angeles and El Salvador

Abstract

This thesis asserts that the problem of gang violence is not solved through the deportations of criminal immigrants. There are several reasons deported Salvadoran gang members return to Los Angeles, including identification with the city of Los Angeles, lack of identification with El Salvador and fear of persecution in El Salvador. The history of El Salvador provides a base on which the current issue of deportations can be analyzed. Since the majority of gang activity in the United States is based in the Los Angeles area, the impact of growing up as an immigrant in Los Angeles is important to understand. Finally, immigration attorneys present asylum arguments based on the documented persecution of gang members by agencies the government of El Salvador cannot or will not control. My data, including interviews, newspaper articles and a transcription of a case for gang-based asylum, show a clear pattern of persecution by the Salvadoran national police.