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Latinos (Hispanics)

A Note on Terms. Before reviewing major characteristics of Latinos, it is important to stress that Latino and Hispanic refer not to a race but to ethnic groups. Latinos may identify themselves racially as black, white, or Native American. Some Latinos who have an African heritage refer to themselves as Afro-Latinos (Navarro 2003).

Numbers, Origins, and Location. When birds still nested in the trees that would be used to build the Mayflower, Latinos had already established settlements in Florida and New Mexico (Bretos 1994). Today, Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States. As shown in Figure 9.7, about 29 million people trace their origin to Mexico, 4 million to Puerto Rico, 1 to 2 million to Cuba, and about 8 million to Central or South America.

Although Latinos are officially tallied at 44 million, another 9 million Latinos are living here illegally. Almost 7 million are from Mexico, and the rest from Central and South America (Statistical Abstract 2011:Table 45; Passel and Cohn 2009). Most Latinos are legal residents, but each year more than 1 million Mexicans are arrested and returned to Mexico, most as they are trying to cross the border (Office of Immigration Statistics 2008). Each year, about 300,000 elude detection and make it to the United States. With this vast migration, about 20 million more Latinos live in the United States than Canadians (33 million) live in Canada. As Figure 9.8 shows, two-thirds live in just four states: California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

The massive unauthorized entry into the United States has aroused in- tense public concern. Despite protests from environmental groups and the Mexican government, U.S. officials have begun to build a 670-mile-long wall on the U.S. side of the border. A group of civilians called the Minutemen also patrols the border, but unofficially. To avoid conflict with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Minutemen do not carry guns. A second unofficial group, the Techno Patriots, also patrols the border, using computers and thermal imaging cameras. When they confirm illegal crossings, they call the Border Patrol, whose agents make the arrests (Archibold and Preston 2008; Marino 2008). Despite walls and patrols, as long as there is a need for unskilled labor and millions of Mexicans live in poverty, this flow of undocumented workers will continue. To gain in- sight into why, see the Cultural Diversity box on the next page.

Spanish Language. The Spanish language distinguishes most Latinos from other U.S. ethnic groups. With 35 million people speaking Spanish at home, the United States has become one of the largest Spanish-speaking nations in the world (Statistical Abstract 2011: Table 53). Because about half of Latinos are unable to speak English, or can do so only with difficulty, many millions face a major obstacle to getting good jobs.

The growing use of Spanish has stoked controversy (Fund 2007). Perceiving the prevalence of Spanish as a threat, Senator S. I. Hayakawa of California initiated an “English-only” move- ment in 1981. The constitutional amendment that he sponsored never got off the ground, but thirty states have passed laws that declare English their official language.

Diversity. For Latinos, country of origin is highly significant. Those from Puerto Rico, for example, feel that they have little in common with people from Mexico, Venezuela, or El Salvador—just as earlier immigrants from Germany, Sweden, and England felt they had little in common with one another. A sign of these divisions is that many refer to themselves in terms of their country of origin, such as puertorriqueños or cubanos, rather than as Latino or Hispanic.

As with other ethnic groups, Latinos are separated by social class. The half-million Cubans who fled Castro’s rise to power in 1959, for example, were mostly well- educated, well-to-do professionals or businesspeople. In contrast, the “boat people”

Racial–Ethnic Relations in the United States 283

Mexico 31,550,000

66% Central and South America 7,583,000 16%

Puerto Rico 4,224,000 8.9%

Cuba 1,647,000 3.5%

Other countries 2,481,000 5.0%

FIGURE 9.7 Geographical Origin of U.S. Latinos

Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract 2011:Table 37.

California 29%

Texas 19%

Other States 22%

New York 7%

Illinois 4%

Arizona 4% New Jersey 3%

Colorado 2% New Mexico 2%

Florida 8%

FIGURE 9.8 Where U.S. Latinos Live

Source: By the author. Based on Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011:Table 19.