Speech #980272257

Lebanon. Nicaragua. and Ethiopia However. the Reagan administration has had difficulty in distinguishing the two completely different solutions and continues to read "EVD" as meaning that each Salvadoran must demonstrate that he or she has been singled out for hostile treatment. Consequently. an estimated 15.000 Salvadoran refugees have been deported since 1981 and approximately 400 per month are currently being deported under increased efforts by the ImmigraUon and Naturalization Service. The Reagan administration has refused each request to grant extended voluntary departure to these victims of war because of the embarrassment of acknowledging that the U.S. supported and militarily financed regime in El Salvador is repressive. President Reagan uses the excuse that Salvadorans are drawn to the United States primarily for economic gain and that granting extended voluntary departure status would cause a mass exodus.