Central Americans account for 2.9 million in the U.S.

By Elizabeth Aguilera
Monday, January 10, 2011 at 4:32 p.m.

Complete report

Migration Information Source - Central American Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants from Central America number 2.9 million and account for 7.6 percent of the U.S. immigrant population, according to a new study by the Migration Policy Institute.

The Migration Policy Institute released a spotlight on "Central Americans in the United States," Monday.

The number of Central Americans has been on the rise since 1980 and the largest percentage of the population comes from El Salvador and Guatemala.

Highlights from the report include:

Central American immigrants live mainly in California, Texas and Florida. Almost one-third of immigrants in New Orleans are from Central America.

Two-thirds are from El Salvador and Guatemala, the rest are from, in descending order, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rick and Belize.
More than two of every five Central American immigrants is undocumented
One in ten is in the U.S. under temporary Humanitarian Protection (due to civil wars, hurricanes and earthquakes)

Over one third of Central American foreign born arrived in 2000 or later
Employment is concentrated in construction, extraction, repair occupations and service jobs

About 1.5 million children under the age of 18 resided in a household with a Central American immigrant parent.
Nearly 400,000 Central Americans became naturalized U.S. citizens since 2000 – this group is less likely than other groups to naturalize

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