This thesis considers the possibility of expanding the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS) to permit enrollment of migrant families. The current ISSS administration is interested in allowing migrants to pay into the social security system to obtain health care benefits for themselves and their family members. No study has ever measured interest in such services among migrants in the U.S. After reviewing existing transnational insurance initiatives and exploring health care access and remittance-sending tendencies among migrants in the U.S., I conducted original research to measure the willingness of 100 Salvadoran migrants to pay into ISSS. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) said they were willing to pay at least $30 per month for ISSS coverage. Amount of money remitted and self-rated health were the strongest predictors of willingness to pay. The results of this research were submitted to the ISSS administration in a separate report.

The Mexican state of Sinaloa has not developed diaspora policies directed to the Sinaloan Diaspora in the United States, even though the economic and social contributions to the state are significant and despite the existence of a significant group of Sinaloans in a situation of extreme vulnerability due to their precarious legal status. Current literature on diaspora policies has not developed a framework to understand atypical cases such as the case of Sinaloa. I developed a mixed method research design case study of state-diaspora relations in the Sinaloa-Los Angeles transnational field. I argue that political, economic, and organizational factors explain the absence of diaspora policies. Findings suggest that this is due to anti-democratic orientations of Sinaloan local governments, lack of strong Sinaloan Hometown Associations, and low remittance dependency at the state level. Only municipalities with few resources have developed a relationship with the diaspora or are willing to do so.