The U.S. recession has hit Hispanic children hard, according to research from the Pew Hispanic Center. And more Latino families, especially new immigrants, are falling below the poverty line.
Pew researchers found that more Hispanic children are living in poverty (6.1 million in 2010) than children of any other racial or ethnic group. The shift accelerated as the recession deepened beginning in 2007.
This marks the first time in U.S. history that the single largest group of poor children is not white. In 2010, 37.3% of poor children were Latino, 30.5% were white and 26.6% were black.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million people lived in poverty during 2010, up from 43.6 million the year before. It marks the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years the government has made poverty estimates.
The Bureau defines poverty as a household income of $22,113 or less for a family of four. Across all races and ethnic groups, one in five children lives in poverty in the United States.
Children from immigrant families were especially hard hit by the economic downturn. The Pew researchers found that close to 70% of the 6.1 million Hispanic children living in poverty had immigrant parents. The vast majority (86.2%) of those children, however, were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens.
The collapse of the housing market also hit Hispanic families hard. Many of them thought they were investing in the American Dream but wound up in foreclosure.
The Pew study did produce some modestly encouraging findings and implications that suggest immigrant families are poised to improve themselves when the U.S. economy improves.
Though the number of poor Hispanic children is the highest ever, the actual poverty rate of 35% is lower than the peak of 41% in 1994. And Pew surveys found that young Hispanics remain optimistic about their long-term futures.
Hispanic children believe they will be better off than their parents, and their college enrollment numbers are rising. There remains a strong correlation between higher education and higher earnings for immigrants, as with other groups.
Hispanics are the fastest-growing large ethnic group in the United States, surging more than 40 percent since 2000, numbering 50.5 million in 2010 and making up 16.3 % of the total population. Researchers point to Latinos’ high birth rate as a key factor in driving the poverty numbers higher.
Attaining U.S. citizenship is still one of the best paths to economic stability for immigrants and their families. Naturalized citizens generally do better than foreign-born non-citizens.
Studies of census data in 2007 found that only 9.4% of naturalized citizens fall below 100% of the poverty line, compared with 20.1% of non-citizens. In addition, 73% of naturalized citizens are above the 200% poverty line compared with 51% of non-citizens.
Researchers have found there fewer foreign-born naturalized citizens below the poverty line than native U.S. citizens, and more naturalized citizens above the 200% mark than native citizens.
The Pew study put the Latino unemployment rate at 11.1% during the second half of 2011, compared with the national rate of about 9.1%. Many Hispanic workers with families are unable to move beyond low-wage jobs, however, and even many of those became hard to find during the recession.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food insecurity among Latino households increased sharply during the recession. In 2008, 32.1% of Latino households with children faced food insecurity, up from 23.8 the year before.
