Hispanics/Latinos

Hispanics by a large margin believe that immigrants have to speak English to be a part of American society and even more so that English should be taught to the children of immigrants.

Hispanics in general, and recent immigrants in particular, are more inclined than blacks or whites to take an upbeat view about one of the most enduring tenets of the American dream -- that each generation will do better in life than the one that preceded it.

In order to better understand the impact of some proposals before Congress, this fact sheet examines the labor force status of unauthorized workers who have been in the country for five years or less.

Hispanics and whites perform different types of work in the labor market. Moreover, the occupational divide between the two largest segments of the labor force appears to be widening.

In addition to longstanding concerns over high school completion, policymakers are increasingly focused on disparities in outcomes between Hispanic and white college students.

A report on high school enrollment points to the importance of schooling abroad in understanding the dropout problem for immigrant teens, finding that those teens have often fallen behind in their education before reaching the United States.

A report on the characteristics of high schools attended by different racial and ethnic groups finds that Hispanic teens are more likely than blacks and whites to attend the nation's largest public high schools.

Hispanics accounted for half of the population growth in the United States between the elections of 2000 and 2004 but only one-tenth of the increase in the total votes cast.

Hispanic workers enjoyed significant gains in employment in 2004. But the concentration of Latinos in relatively low-skill occupations contributed to reduced earnings for them for the second year in a row.

The survey findings reveal whether the migrants would vote if they could and which segments of the migrant population are likely to meet key eligibility requirements.