While qualitative research has documented the challenges faced by returnees in their reintegration journeys, the broader social, economic, and political consequences of deportations on their families and communities remain largely unexplored. This project seeks to address this gap by examining how deportations reshape family dynamics, livelihoods, and coping strategies within transnational households.

El Salvador provides a unique case for studying deportation externalities. As of 2020, almost 1.4 million Salvadoran-born migrants lived in the US, more than a fifth of the population of El Salvador. Many of these are vulnerable to deportations. An estimated 750,000 of Salvadoran migrants in the US lack legal status. Over the past two decades, the cumulative number of deportees returned from the U.S. is equivalent to 5% of El Salvador’s current population. To better understand the impact of these large-scale returns on communities of origin, this project will conduct in-depth surveys among migrant households in El Salvador and among households being exposed to the forced return of close relatives.

Research is funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) from February 2025 to February 2027.