Every city has its immigrants. Where Los Angeles became famous for its sizeable Mexican population and Miami its influential Cubans, the Washington area has long been known for its Salvadorans. Natives of the tiny Central American country — roughly 105,000 in the Washington area, the second largest concentration nationwide — represent the single largest immigrant group in the District and its surroundings, and have come to form an undeniable part of the region’s social fabric.

Arlandria, a small town bordering Alexandria and Arlington County, has been nicknamed Little Chirilagua, after the town from which many of its Salvadoran residents fled more than 20 years ago. Pupusas, a Salvadoran staple, are easily found around Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights, and police forces in the area continue fighting the powerful MS-13 gang, whose roots trace back to the civil war that ravaged El Salvador in the 1980s. Salvadorans send over $1 billion back to their homeland a year in remittances, and so big is their influence in the United States that Salvadoran President Tony Saca often pays them visits while in Washington.

But what if the region’s Salvadorans were suddenly told to pack up their stuff and head back south?