Costa Rican Americans
Costa Rican Americans
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Franklin Chang-Diaz – Sonia Chang-Diaz – Heather Hemmens |
There have never been waves of migration from Costa Rica to the United States, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service records indicate that very few Costa Ricans have tried to enter the country so illegally. This is because, unlike other Hispanic groups, they have not been forced to emigrate to the U.S. for political oppression or extreme economic circumstances. Most Costa Ricans living in the United States have moved here following marriage to an American, or following work opportunities in the United States.
Since 1931 only 57,661 Costa Ricans have immigrated to the United States. Hence, the number of Costa Rican emigrants has been increasing very slowly. This is very different from the pattern of emigration from most other Central American countries. In fact, the other two countries in this region that have a continuously slow rate of emigration are Belize and Panama.
Demography
The most of Costa Ricans that live in United States live in California, Florida, Texas, and the New York City / New Jersey area. The areas with the largest Costa Rican populations, in according to the latter reports, are: Los Angeles and its surrounding areas (23,625), New York City area (including parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, and Long Island (12,985)), Miami and surrounding areas (in theHialeah) and in Fort Lauderdale) (9,987) and in the Houston and Galveston area of Texas (2,534). There is also a significant Costa Rican American population in the Chicago, Illinois, and Gary,Indiana, areas (1,845). The geographical preferences of Costa Ricans se hacen evident in the statistics from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as consistent with the findings of the 1990 census.
