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Central and South Americans Although Mexican immigrants have accounted for more than 60 percent of the Latinos who arrived in the United States in the past half century, substantial numbers of Central and South Americans, who established communities in the United States before 1950, have also swelled immigration totals. According to the 2000 census, Latinos, whose numbers increased by nearly 60 percent in the 1990s, passed African Americans as the largest non-European ethnic group. The census counted 35.3 million Hispanics, slightly more than the total for blacks. The striking trend appeared to be continuing in the first years of the twenty-first century . Moreover, many experts have maintained that the Census Bureau undercounted Latinos. Sociologist John Logan, working with census and other data, concluded that Latinos were more numerous than official figures suggested. He said, for example, that New York City’s Dominicans totaled 593,777—a figure 186,304 higher than the government’s figures. For the city’s Colombians, Logan said his results indicate that the government failed to count 36,700 of these nationals.1 Roberto Suro, head of the Pew Hispanic Center, noted the difficulties of using census questions when counting Hispanics and agreed that many were left uncounted by census takers. Latinos hailed from a variety of cultures and nations in the Western Hemisphere and included the Cuban refugees (who will be discussed in a later chapter). But whatever the exact figures, there is no doubt about the rapid increase in Latinos since 1960 and their growing impact on American society and culture.2 For half a century Latinos were concentrated in only a few states such as Texas and California, but now they are found in growing numbers in many regions and states.3 (See Table 2.) The largest number of Central American Latinos hailed from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, where economic necessity and limited job prospects drove many people north. These individuals were 5 125 relatively poor, with little education, and often had agricultural skills suitable only for the crops of their own land, such as coffee and bananas. Yet another factor compelled many to leave. Beginning in the 1970s and continuing into the 1990s, their nations experienced prolonged and severe violence . The conditions varied somewhat, but civil wars prompted many of the immigrants to try to win asylum or refugee status. To be sure, some other Central and South Americans applied for asylum, too, but for Nicaraguans, Guatemalans, and Salvadorans the struggle to remain in the 126 | Central and South Americans table 2 Immigration from Selected Central and South American Nations (1991–2001) Country of Birth 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Central America 111,093 57,558 58,162 39,908 31,814 44,289 43,676 35,679 43,216 66,443 75,914 Costa Rica 2,341 1,480 1,368 1,205 1,062 1,504 1,330 1,204 886 1,324 1,744 El Salvador 47,351 26,191 26,818 17,644 11,744 17,903 17,969 14,590 14,606 22,578 31,272 Guatemala 25,527 10,521 11,870 7,389 6,213 8,763 7,785 7,759 7,308 9,970 13,567 Honduras 11,451 6,552 7,306 5,265 5,496 5,870 7,616 6,463 4,809 5,939 6,615 Nicaragua 17,842 8,949 7,086 5,255 4,408 6,903 6,331 3,521 13,389 24,029 19,896 Panama 4,204 2,845 2,679 2,378 2,247 2,560 1,981 1,646 1,646 1,843 1,881 South America 79,934 55,308 53,921 47,377 45,666 61,769 52,877 45,394 41,585 56,074 68,888 Argentina 3,889 3,877 2,824 2,318 1,762 2,456 1,964 1,511 1,393 2,331 3,328 Bolivia 3,006 1,510 1,545 1,404 1,332 1,913 1,734 1,513 1,448 1,772 1,826 Brazil 8,133 4,755 4,604 4,491 4,558 5,891 4,583 4,401 3,902 6,959 9,505 Chile 2,842 1,937 1778 1,640 1,534 1,706 1,443 1,240 1,092 1,712 1,947 Colombia 19,702 13,201 12,819 10,847 10,838 14,283 13,004 11,836 9,966 14,498 16...

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