BROADCASTS.com

In 2001, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck El Salvador, killing nearly 1,000 people. In the wake of the humanitarian disaster triggered by the natural disaster, the United States welcomed nearly 200,000 Salvadorans to live and work legally. (Undocumented Salvadorans already in America could also apply for status.) For more than 15 years, this population has existed under temporary protected status. This week, the Trump administration announced that this program will end in fall 2019. \u201cWe\u2019re in 2018, 17 years on, and the country has in fact largely recovered from the earthquakes. The Trump administration at least on that point is absolutely correct,\u201d said Stephen Offutt, an associate professor of development studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. \u201cWhat\u2019s not been taken into account is the fact that El Salvador is still a dangerous place.\u201d While Salvadorian churches at times offer the only options for gang members hoping to leave that life behind, \u201cthat\u2019s not the whole story,\u201d said Offutt. Instead, as CT reported last year, pastors and other religious leaders have been kidnapped or extorted by the gangs. \u201cOne of the reasons I respect pastors in these communities so much is because they stay there,\u201d he said. Offutt joined associate digital media producer Morgan Lee and guest host, managing editor Andy Olsen, to discuss how US immigration policies may defund Salvadorean churches, the intensity of the violence in the country, and how pastors instruct their congregations to interact with gangs.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices