The Peace Corps announced Tuesday that it would suspend their program in the Central American nation of El Salvador due to safety concerns.

According to the organization's website, "Peace Corps has enjoyed a long partnership with the government and people of El Salvador and is committed to resuming volunteers' work there in a safe and secure environment."

More than 2,300 Peace Corps volunteers are said to have worked in El Salvador since the program's inception in 1962. However, a recent spike in violence has likely raised alarm in the White House as to the safety of its Peace Corps members.

As of the end of last year, El Salvador holds the highest homicide rate in the world, surpassing its neighboring country, Honduras.

The country officially registered 6,657 homicides in 2015 alone, with much of killing committed by Salvadoran gang members.

"Volunteers' health, safety and security are the Peace Corps' top priorities," their statement read.

The safety and security of deportees seems to be of lesser importance to the government. The Obama administration continues to push for the deportation of undocumented Latin American immigrants, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) apprehending 121 people in raids conducted earlier this month.

In June, the U.S. State Department reissued a warning for those traveling to the country. The department cited numerous concerns over increasing crime and violence, with 34 Americans being killed in the last three years. A 9-year-old child was also murdered in December 2013, and over 400 Americans have reported their passports stolen. 

The increasing violence is a major reason many Salvadorans are leaving the country in droves. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, border agents captured over 7,200 families attempting to enter the country since October. Some 5,000 children were also apprehended, all found traveling without their parents. 

Not all Salvadorans have the luxury of taking private cars or tour buses the way American tourists can. Many are resided to impoverished areas where violent gangs thrive. Yet the DHS has shown little hesitation in sending migrants back to the very danger they sought to escape.

Latin Post contacted the DHS's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division (ICE) for a statement on the matter.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) coordinates removal logistics with the receiving country governments to ensure a safe and secure return process," an unnamed official said.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, immigrants from El Salvador can apply for temporary protective status but only if they have been in the U.S. since the specified designation date of March 2001.