One consequence of the Reagan's administration aid to right-wing El Salvador government was <u>the influx of Salvadoran asylum seekers into the United States</u>. This sparked a large politicized debate over immigration in the U.S. that ultimately helped to shape the legal and political American debate about it.
The Reagan administration's (1981-1989) large military aid to right-wing coup and government in El Salvador served also as legitimization and sustenance of the regime. The El Salvador civil war lasted almost 13 years (1979-1992).
American support of the right-wing government happened through financial aid and military training by American officers. This was a conflict typical of the Cold War so it was driven by red scare. Americans' support of the regime attempted to forestall any type of social revolution based on leftist ideologies, represented by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front which was fighting against the military coup that started in 1979.
This led to Americans training and supporting a military that tortured thousands of people. One of the Salvadorean strategies against the rebels was to target civilians so they wouldn't support the Liberation Front.
The legitimization happened as the U.S. supported internationally the Salvadorean regime and as American officers took high-level positions in the government.
