Town marks 50 years of links to US

– Far from US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the people of a small coastal town in El Salvador on Tuesday celebrated half a century of their links to Washington DC joined by the capital’s mayor.

Sigfredo Chavez and Elba Salinas and their two sons were the first migrants from Intipuca to make the long journey to the US in 1967, ending up in Washington DC and paving the way for thousands of people from their town who would follow, local officials said.

Intipuca

The celebration took place in the town’s central plaza where a statue of a migrant, with a bag on his shoulder, stands in a large fountain.

The plaza was decorated with colourful banners. Children waved the red and white flags of Washington DC and cheered the first visit by a mayor of the US capital, Muriel Bowser.

“We will work every day to ensure that Salvadorans in Washington continue to work, continue raising their children, continue to contribute to the economy, continue sending remittances to their loved ones,” Bowser said, according to a translation of a Spanish version of her comments.

Boswer did not directly address Trump’s immigration policies.

Some 5 000 Salvadorans from Intipuca now live in the Washington area, according to the mayor’s office, while 7 000 inhabitants back in the coastal town take care of US-style homes built with dollars sent back by migrants. – Reuters