evidence: More than a million El Salvadoran people were displaced during the war, many of whom fled to the United States and were given temporary protected status. Some of the immigrants, facing discrimination and poverty, joined gangs in the United States for protection and survival, and as result, some were convicted of crimes and sent to prison.68 In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act made it possible to deport immigrants who had served a one-year prison sentence, lowering the minimum for deportation from the previous five-year rule.69 The change in the law resulted in many Salvadoran immigrants being deported back to El Salvador; however, the Salvadoran government maintains that the United States did not inform it of the deportees’ criminal histories. Once in El Salvador, the gang members recruited others to their gangs, either through the threat of violence or promise of wealth. Violence skyrocketed in El Salvador after 1996, and today, much like the way it was during the civil war years, many Salvadorans live in fear and hope for a better life in America.