PLAYA TUNCO, El Salvador—Rhythmic Latin music played softly in the background as Patricia Sandoval wept at a restaurant overlooking the gray sea of her native El Salvador.
Her voice grew husky as she gazed out at the crashing waves, her tone grim as she recounted the horrors of her life as an 11-year-old growing up in a country torn by civil war.
Until just weeks ago, it had been 42 years since she had set foot in her homeland, after having fled to the United States with her mother and siblings to build a safe, new life. She was driven to tears recalling the bittersweet moment last month when she stepped off the plane onto the terra firma of her childhood….