Latinos Represent
Nearly Half of the Total
Foreign-Born Population
in the U.S.
The following information was released by the
William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) on February
7, 2002.
Latinos represent 45.2% of the total foreign-born
population in the U.S. according to a new Census
report released on February 6, 2002. Of the
nation's 28.4 million foreign-born, over 12.8
million identified being of Hispanic origin.
Over half, nearly 14.5 million of 51%, identified
a Latin American country as their region of
birth with over half, 7.8 million or 54.2% coming
from Mexico alone.
"As the Latino electorate
grows in importance in the U.S., it is essential
to note that 88% of the foreign born that identified
a Latin American country as their region of
birth were also of voting age or 18 years or
older," stated Robert Aguinaga, WCVI Research
Coordinator. "Yet only 28.3%, or a little over
4 million, of the foreign-born that identified
a Latin American country as their region of
birth were naturalized citizens," concluded
Aguinaga. This statistic is compared to a naturalization
percentage of 53.1% for the non-Latin American
foreign-born. Specific citizenship statistics
are not given in the report for the voting age
foreign-born subgroup.
Mexicans comprise the
largest group within the Latin American non-citizens
numbering 6.2 million or 60.2%. Conversely,
Mexicans only represent 38.8% or 1.6 million
of the Latin American naturalized. With the
Latino electorate numbering over 8 million,
immigration reforms discussed between the U.S.
and Mexico could dramatically impact the eligible
Latino voting pool.
Latin American migrants
also were concentrated in a few areas. The areas
differ based on the place of birth of the Latin
American migrants. 3 out of 4 in the Caribbean
live either in the New York or Miami metros.
On the other hand, those born in Mexico are
found largely in the Lose Angeles metro area
and the state of Texas. Combined, these two
areas account for half of the Mexican-born population,
or 3.6 million.
The data come from a
comprehensive report released by the Census
on the Internet on February 6, 2002. The report
covers geographic, demographic, social, economic
and housing characteristics of the country's
foreign-born population. Accompanying it are
more than 400 pages of tables, including data
on country or area of birth and state and metropolitan
area of residence. Statistics from sample surveys
are subject to sampling and non-sampling error.
The William C. Velasquez
Institute (WCVI) is a non-partisan Latino public
policy and research think tank that examines
Latino electoral trends. Since it's founding
in 1985, WCVI has been at the forefront of Latino
research in the areas of civic and economic
empowerment.
