The Foreign Born From Latin America and the Caribbean: 2010 Issued September 2011 American Community Survey Briefs ACSBR/10-15 By INTRODUCTION Yesenia D. Acosta Defining Nativity Status: and During the last 50 years, the Who Is Foreign Born? G. Patricia de la Cruz number of foreign born from Latin Nativity status refers to whether a America and the Caribbean has person is native or foreign born. The increased rapidly, from less than native-born population includes anyone 1 million in 1960 to 21.2 million in who was a U.S. citizen at birth. 1 2010. Currently, the foreign born Respondents who were born in the from Latin America represent over United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island half of the total foreign-born popu- Area (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, lation. This brief will discuss the American Samoa, or the Commonwealth size, place of birth, citizenship sta- of the Northern Mariana Islands), or tus, and geographic distribution of abroad of a U.S. citizen parent or the foreign born from Latin America parents, are defined as native born. The in the United States. It presents foreign-born population includes anyone data on the foreign born from Latin who was not a U.S. citizen at birth, America at the national and state including those who have become U.S. levels based on the 2010 American citizens through naturalization. Community Survey (ACS). 1 The term Latin America and the In 2010, 309.3 million people lived in Caribbean includes countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Central the United States, including 40.0 mil- America includes Belize, Costa Rica, El lion foreign born (13 percent of the total Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, population). In 2000, 31.1 million of the Nicaragua, and Panama. South America includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, 281.4 million U.S. residents were foreign Colombia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, French born—11 percent of the total population.2 Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Caribbean includes Over the decade, the foreign-born popu- Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, lation increased by 8.8 million. Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, the former Over half (53 percent) of all foreign-born country of Guadeloupe (including St. U.S. residents in 2010 were from Latin Barthélemy and Saint-Martin), Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, the former coun- America (Table 1). Another 28 percent try of the Netherlands Antilles (including were from Asia. The next largest world Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten), St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, region-of-birth group, the foreign born St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Note that people born in Puerto Rico and 2 Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. 2006. “Histori- the U.S. Virgin Islands are native born to the cal Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population United States and are not included in the list in the United States: 1850 to 2000.” U.S. Census of countries in the Caribbean. Throughout Bureau: Population Division Working Paper, Num- the remainder of this report, the term Latin ber 81 available on the Census Bureau’s Web site at America refers to all of these areas. <www.census.gov/population/www/techpap.html>. U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. CENSUS BUREAU from Europe, represented 12 Table 1. percent of all foreign born—less Foreign-Born Population by Region of Birth: 2010 than half the size of the foreign (Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality born from Asia. About 4 percent protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov of the foreign born were born /acs/www) in Africa and 3 percent were Number Percent from other regions, including Region of birth Margin of Margin of Estimate error (±)1 Estimate error (±)1 Oceania and Northern America. Total . 39,956 115 100.0 (X) The single largest country-of- Africa . 1,607 33 4 .0 0 .1 birth group was from Mexico (29 Asia . 11,284 47 28 .2 0 .1 percent of all foreign born). Europe . 4,817 44 12 .1 0 .1 Latin America and the Caribbean . 21,224 90 53 .1 0 .1 Caribbean . 3,731 42 9 .3 0 .1 FINDINGS Central America . 14,764 90 36 .9 0 .2 Mexico . 11,711 83 29 .3 0 .2 In 2000, 16.1 million foreign Other Central America 2 . 3,053 46 7 .6 0 .1 born from Latin America lived South America . 2,730 42 6 .8 0 .1 Other regions 3 . 1,024 19 2 .6 – in the United States. Over the last 10 years, the foreign-born – Represents or rounds to zero . (X) Not applicable . population from Latin America 1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure increased by 5.1 million, of an estimate’s variability . The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reaching 21.2 million in 2010. reliable the estimate . This number when added to and subtracted from the estimate forms the 90 percent confidence interval . 2 The majority of the foreign born Other Central America includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama . from Latin America were from 3 Other regions includes Oceania and Northern America . Central America (70 percent), Source: U .S . Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey . followed by the Caribbean (18 percent), and South America (13 percent) (Table 2). Mexico accounted for more than half (55 percent) of the foreign born Figure 1. from Latin America. El Salvador Distribution of the Latin American and Caribbean and Cuba each represented Foreign Born by State: 2010 (Percent distribution. Data based on sample. For information on more than 5 percent. Among the confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and foreign born from the Caribbean, definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www) those born in Cuba (30 percent) and the Dominican Republic (24 percent) represented the largest proportion of all foreign born. Over three-fourths of all foreign All other states born from Central America were California 28.9 25.8 born in Mexico (79 percent). Colombia represented the largest share of the foreign born from South America (23 percent). Although the foreign born Texas Illinois from Latin America were found 14.2 4.0 across the country, most were New York Florida concentrated in only a few states. New Jersey 4.0 10.2 13.0 In 2010, 26 percent (or 5.5 million) of the foreign born from Latin America lived in California, 14 percent (or 3.0 million) in Texas, 13 percent (or 2.8 million) Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey. 2 U.S. Census Bureau Table 2. Central America represented more Foreign-Born Population From Latin America and the than half of the Latin American Caribbean by Country of Birth: 2010 foreign born (Table 3). The foreign (Numbers in thousands. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality born from Mexico represented protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov about 9 out of 10 foreign born /acs/www) from Latin America in New Number Percent of total Percent of region Mexico, Arizona, and Idaho. The Margin Margin Margin foreign born from the Caribbean Region and country of birth of of of error error error represented about one-third of Estimate (±)1 Estimate (±)1 Estimate (±)1 the Latin American foreign born Total ............... 21,224 90 100.0 (X) (X) (X) in seven states. Two of these Caribbean . 3,731 42 17 .6 0 .2 100 .0 (X) states—Florida (55 percent) and Cuba . 1,105 27 5 .2 0 .1 29 .6 0 .6 Dominican Republic . 879 24 4 .1 0 .1 23 .6 0 .6 New York (49 percent)—each Haiti . 587 21 2 .8 0 .1 15 .7 0 .6 have Latin American foreign-born Jamaica . 660 20 3 .1 0 .1 17 .7 0 .5 Other Caribbean 2 . 500 17 2 .4 0 .1 13 .4 0 .4 populations of 2 million or more. Central America . 14,764 90 69 .6 0 .2 100 .0 (X) Mexico . 11,711 83 55 .2 0 .3 79 .3 0 .3 In 2010, 32 percent of the foreign- El Salvador . 1,214 34 5 .7 0 .2 8 .2 0 .2 born population from Latin America Guatemala . 831 29 3 .9 0 .1 5 .6 0 .2 Honduras . 523 24 2 .5 0 .1 3 .5 0 .2 were naturalized citizens (Table 4). Other Central America 3 . 485 17 2 .3 0 .1 3 .3 0 .1 The foreign-born population from South America . 2,730 42 12 .9 0 .2 100 .0 (X) Central America had the lowest Brazil . 340 15 1 .6 0 .1 12 .4 0 .5 Colombia . 637 19 3 .0 0 .1 23 .3 0 .6 percent naturalized of all regions Ecuador . 443 20 2 .1 0 .1 16 .2 0 .6 of birth (24 percent). Of those born Peru . 429 18 2 .0 0 .1 15 .7 0 .6 Other South America 4 . 882 23 4 .2 0 .1 32 .3 0 .7 in the Caribbean, 54 percent were naturalized citizens. About 44 (X) Not applicable . percent of the foreign born from 1 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability . A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability . The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less South America were naturalized reliable the estimate .