The displacement of many Salvadorans has been attributed to the armed conflict lasting from 1980 to 1992, but Salvadoran immigration began before the war and continues to this day. The U.S.-based Salvadoran immigrant network represents all levels of Salvadoran and U.S. society, including elected officials ― for example, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Victor Ramirez Maryland Assembly members, and Walter Tejada, Arlington County (Va.) Board Member. Pre-war U.S. residence is common to the most successful Salvadoran immigrants, while many post-war arrivals are still trying to gain a foothold. The core of the Salvadoran Diaspora network, the community organizers and volunteers, however, arrived in the U.S. during the war with a common desire to change conditions for themselves and for those they left behind. Some work here as teachers, lawyers, doctors, civil rights, community and labor organizers and entrepreneurs; most are the blue-collar workers who do the grunt work that allows cities like Los Angeles to run smoothly. Driven by family obligations, interest in cultural preservation, a philanthropic spirit and nostalgia, many, even those struggling to survive, maintain an active connection with home. In economic terms, this translates into more than $3 billion in remittances to El Salvador almost every year, a contribution whose sheer volume drives El Salvador’s economy and development.