 Lots. For many people, it's not an easy route to get to the United States. The thousands of dollars people from El Salvador need to get there are spent on paying to be illegally smuggled across country borders to get them to the US. If they manage to make it, the opportunities they dream of translate into money for El Salvador's economy. According to the World Bank, around 26% of the country's income comes from remittances sent home by relatives living abroad.