Reagan Immigration Policy and the Dirty War in El Salvador examines the connection between American immigration reform and United States intervention in Central America during the Cold War. The book explores the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which granted legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants while introducing restrictions and employer sanctions that reshaped the immigration system.
The book also investigates the Reagan administration’s support for the Salvadoran government and military during a civil war marked by killings, disappearances, displacement, and serious human-rights violations. Thousands of Salvadoran families were forced to leave their homes and seek safety in the United States.
Armando Oscar Olmos and Maria Teresa Zambrano Rivera present a powerful examination of the human cost of these political decisions. By connecting immigration, military intervention, and the experiences of working families, this book explains how policies enacted during the Reagan era continue to influence immigration debates today.