El Salvador: Expectations for Obama's visit

The Catholic Church in El Salvador awaits the visit from President Barack Obama with a positive outlook, hoping to establish the basis for a “radical reform for emigration,” said Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador.

Said the prelate, “We expect that in the dialogue between the President of the United States and our authorities there is respect for our sovereignty and freedom, and that in the business of the welfare of our country, the development and commercial growth of the nation is considered,” adding “The meeting should not stop at the maintenance of good diplomatic relations, but must deal with the emigration issue. From this visit should come a solid promise for the benefit of our immigrant brothers.”

President Obama will visit the diminuitive Central American country March 21-25 and will be his first visit to the isthmus. From here he will travel to Brazil and Chile.

About two and a half million Salvadorans live in the United States.