Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain issues concerning Salvadoran nationals who have returned to El Salvador, specifically: (1) whether they have encountered violence or persecution upon their return; and (2) the reliability and use of the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration's (ICM) reports on its reception program for returnees.

GAO found that: (1) while the ICM reports do not specifically state that individuals have experienced political persecution, there have been reports of personal security problems; (2) the ICM program covered only two-thirds of the returnees from the United States; and (3) the reliability of the information from ICM, human rights organizations, and the U.S. embassy was limited. GAO concluded that, due to data limitations, it could not compare the problems returnees encountered with those of the general population in El Salvador.