By providing free legal and social services to Salvadorans and other Central American immigrants, as well as refugees and immigrants from other Latin American countries living in Los Angeles, California, El Rescate has been an important force for social justice and human rights.
When a civil war began in El Salvador in 1980,
During the 1980’s, it was difficult for Central American refugees to obtain legal refugee status because President Ronald Reagan’s administration argued that its Central American allies protected the human rights of their citizens. El Rescate opened a secret office in El Salvador in 1985 to document human rights abuses in that country. The information was broadly disseminated and helped El Rescate persuade U.S. legislators that
When the civil war ended in 1992, many Salvadorans decided to settle in California, but most retained strong ties to those back home. Approximately one million Salvadorans lived in the United States at that time, compared with a population of about six million in El Salvador. El Rescate shifted its focus from refugee services, expanding to offer financial services for immigrants and permanent residents, including credit cards, phone cards, payroll services, and the Comunidades Federal Credit Union; assistance with sending money to relatives in Central America; and small loans and workshops to help immigrants become financially secure. The group also provided literacy tutoring and helped clients gain access to health care services. Its primary beneficiaries were Salvadorans, but refugees from other parts of Central America and other Latino immigrants in the Los Angeles area were also served.
In 1997, President
Coutin, Susan Bibler. Legalizing Moves: Salvadoran Immigrants’ Struggle for U.S. Residency. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003. Hamilton, Nora, and Norma Stoltz Chinchilla. Seeking Community in a Global City: Guatemalans and Salvadorans in Los Angeles. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. Howland, Todd. “How El Rescate, a Small Nongovernmental Organization, Contributed to the Transformation of the Human Rights Situation in El Salvador.” Human Rights Quarterly 30, no. 3 (August, 2008): 703-757. Ruíz, Vicki, and Virginia Sánchez Korrol. Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006.
California
Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S.
Guatemalan immigrants
Health care
Latin American immigrants
Los Angeles
Nicaraguan immigrants
Refugees
Salvadoran immigrants