ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses how a large percentage of the Mexican origin Latino population in the United States (US) has made a transition from being poor in Mexico to being poor in the United States. It explores how far behind Latinos have fallen and to analyze the underlying causes of their situation. In spite of its significance, the immigration process by itself cannot sufficiently explain the highly adverse economic circumstances that so many Latinos experience in the US. In spite of two very long periods of sustained economic growth since 1980, the socioeconomic situation of Latinos in the United States has declined with respect to the rest of the population. Their poverty rate has grown significantly and they constitute an increasing percentage of those in poverty. Puerto Ricans have the highest unemployment rates among Latinos, followed by Mexicans and then Cubans, whose rate is nonetheless somewhat higher than that of non Hispanic whites. Low educational attainment further restricts their occupational mobility.
