This is where the migrants return. Everyone here risked their lives to make it to the United States, and failed. Now, they’re back at this processing center in El Salvador. Many have families to receive them — like Marlene and her 4-year-old daughter, Sheila. [child shouting] [speaking Spanish] William hadn’t seen his daughter in weeks. But he’s willing to send Sheila back out again, on a dangerous journey. Why? Because it’s more dangerous here at home. She can’t even go to school safely. The migrants are given a quick meal, a pair of new shoes and a ride. Then, they’re thrown back into the same world that drove them away. And we’re here to find out what that world is like. El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Rival gangs like MS-13 and 18th Street have been at war for decades. They work like the mafia, extorting money from local businesses, fighting for territory and killing with impunity. An average of 18 people are killed or disappear here each day. [gunfire] It all goes back to a civil war that started in 1980. For 12 years, communist-leaning guerrillas fought against American-backed military forces who committed vicious atrocities against civilians. [weeping] Because of the war, hundreds of thousands sought asylum in the U.S. It’s there, on the streets of Los Angeles, that many young men were introduced to gang culture. Then, after a peace treaty in 1992, the U.S. deported thousands of hardened gang members back. It’s 3 a.m. We’re driving through one of the most dangerous gang-controlled parts of the city. Chamba is a veteran reporter covering gang violence. He asked that we change his name and not show his face. The gangs are pervasive, and many poor neighborhoods look like this. A local aid group introduced us to Victoria and her daughter, Isabella. They live in hiding, running a small bakery out of this abandoned house. They’ve had to move three times in the last three years, and asked us not to use their real names. Their problems started with a small squabble between friends. Isabella wanted her bracelet back, and that was all it took. She had offended the gangs, which was enough to mark her and her entire family for death. So they fled north. At the U.S. border, Isabella was caught, and they were forced to return. This month, El Salvador elected its youngest president ever, 37-year-old Nayib Bukele, an energetic former mayor running against the establishment. It’s the first time in 30 years that the two largest political parties failed to take power. A clear sign of just how much Salvadorans are craving change. We had followed Bukele on the election trail. Many skeptics say he’s the new face of an old and corrupt system, but his supporters are inspired. [cheering] But even here, there’s a fear of the gangs. We see security forces accuse this young boy of being a gang lookout. Bukele is making ambitious promises to weed out corruption and reduce inequality. After the rally, we jumped in the back of his car. “Hello.” “Hi. The gang violence here seems to be the biggest thing that we have uncovered talking to people, and discussing why they’re leaving, why they have problems here.” “It is.” “How are you hoping to fight that?” “It’s not a crime problem. It’s a social problem that develops into a crime problem. The real way to tackle gang violence is to correct the social dysfunction that we have in our country, with its social injustice, economical injustice, no opportunities, stigmatization.” “It seems like, in a lot of the things that you’re asking for, it requires a lot of patience. And it requires asking people to wait for things to get better. Are you worried about people getting impatient?” “Yes. Probably the most important thing is not to lose people’s faith in what you are doing.” For now, the fight against the gangs looks like this. The police move from bar to bar, lining up the patrons to search pockets and phones for any traces of gang contact. It’s a show of force, and in the end, there are no arrests. The police’s heavy-handed tactics haven’t solved the problem, and for many people here, it simply adds to the atmosphere of violence and intimidation. Back at the immigration center, deportees continue to come in. Among them is Edwin, a former police officer who fled because the gangs had threatened to kill him. Now, he’s headed home. But he won’t stay there for long.