Life in El Salvador after deportation

Luis Ramirez, left, and Juan Villegas, both deported back to El Salvador, visit a rehab center in the capital, San Salvador.

A man in El Salvador shows off gunshot wounds. He said he was shot twice by gang members.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Maggie Moran, 45, a deportee, now lives in a women’s shelter where she helps with cooking and child care. Her children live in the United States, where she lost custody of them.

Deportee Maggie Moran, 45, gets a hug from Sam Hawkins at a church in San Salvador. Moran says she was able to change her life for the better by being deported, but she misses her family in the United States.

Maggie Moran walks a child from school back to the women’s shelter where she cooks and provides child care.

Jose Reyes, 39, right, parties with Ivania Hernandez and Walter Lopez. Reyes and Lopez were both deported from the U.S. after growing up in Houston. “My whole life was there,” Reyes said. “My first language was English.”

Deportee Walter Lopez, 38, center, is checked for weapons before attending a Super Bowl party at a local sports stadium. “I dream in English,” said Lopez.

Mayra Machado, 31, was deported to El Salvador in 2017, away from her three children. She arrived in El Salvador without a passport or any identification.

A photo of Mayra Machado, 31, and her children. Machado was deported back to El Salvador in 2017. Her children, who are U.S. citizens, remain in Fayetteville, Ark. She still hasn’t told them she isn’t coming back.