Like the U.S. population as a whole, Latinos are feeling the sting of the economic downturn. Almost one-in-ten (9%) Latino homeowners say they missed a mortgage payment or were unable to make a full payment and 3% say they received a foreclosure notice in the past year, according to a new national survey of 1,540 Latino adults conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center. Moreover, more than six-in-ten (62%) Latino homeowners say there have been foreclosures in their neighborhood over the past year, and 36% say they are worried that their own home may go into foreclosure. This figure rises to 53% among foreign-born Latino homeowners.

The economic downturn has also had an impact on the amount of money Latino immigrants send to family members or others in their country of origin. Among Hispanic immigrants who sent these remittances in the last two years, more than seven-in-ten (71%) say they sent less in the past year than in the prior year. However, while the amount of money Hispanic immigrants say they sent abroad has declined, the share of Hispanic immigrants who say they remitted funds is unchanged from 2006. More than half (54%) of foreign-born Hispanics, and more than one-in-three (36%) Latinos, say they sent remittances in the past year. In 2006, 51% of the foreign-born, and 35% of all Latinos, said they sent remittances in the prior year.

Latinos make up 15% of the total U.S. population, and in many respects their downbeat assessment of the nation’s economy is similar to that of the general population. According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press,¹ almost six-in-ten (59%) among the general public say the U.S. economy is in poor condition, a belief held by 63% of Latinos. And similar shares of the general U.S. population and Latinos say that jobs are difficult to find where they live — 73% versus 78%.

However, Latinos hold a more negative view of their own current personal financial situation than does the population as a whole. More than three-in-four (75%) Latinos, and 84% of foreign-born Latinos, say their current personal finances are in either fair or poor shape, while 61% of the general U.S. population says that. But Latinos are more optimistic than others about the future: 67% expect that their financial circumstances will improve over the next year; just 56% of the general population feels the same way.

As the economy has soured, many Latinos are adjusting their economic behaviors. More than seven-in-ten (71%) report that they have cut back spending on eating out. Two-thirds (67%) say they planned to curtail holiday spending. More than one-fourth (28%) report that they helped a family member or friend with a loan.

A majority of Latinos (57%) say they do not have a very good understanding of recent financial problems involving financial institutions and companies with ties to the housing market that have dominated the economic news in recent months. When asked who or what has contributed to these problems, a large majority of survey respondents (76%) point a finger of blame at individuals who took on too much debt. But most Latinos also blame the lending policies of banks and financial institutions (70%) and insufficient government regulation of financial institutions (67%).

This report is based on a bilingual telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,540 Hispanics ages 18 and older. Interviews were conducted from Nov. 11 through Nov. 30, 2008. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 3.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For a complete description of the survey methodology, see Appendix A in the full report, linked to at the bottom of this page (PDF).

Key findings of this study include the following:

Housing

• Half of adult Latinos are homeowners. Of this group, nearly one-in-ten (9%) say they have missed a mortgage payment in the past year.
• Among Latino homeowners, 3% have received a foreclosure notice in the past year.
• More than one-third (36%) of Latino homeowners are worried that their home may go into foreclosure in the next year.
• More than six-in-ten (62%) Latino homeowners say there have been foreclosures in their neighborhood in the past year.
• Nearly one-in-ten (8%) Latino homeowners say they have had a home equity loan denied in the past year, and 8% say they have had a home refinance application denied.

Remittances

• Among Hispanic immigrants who sent remittances in the last two years, more than seven-in-ten (71%) say they sent less in the past year compared with the prior year.
• Among foreign-born Hispanics who say they sent less money abroad in the past year, 83% cite financial circumstances as the main reason.
• More than half (54%) of foreign-born Hispanics say they have sent remittances abroad in the past year; 17% of native-born Hispanics say they have done so.
• According to central bank reports, remittances to Mexico and Central America increased rapidly from 2000 to 2006. However, growth has tapered off for most countries in the past two years. More details from these sources are available in Appendix C, found in the full report.

Economic Conditions, Jobs and the Credit Crisis

• More than six-in-ten Hispanics (63%) say economic conditions today are poor, a sentiment shared by 59% of the general public.
• Similar shares of the general U.S. population and Latinos say that jobs are difficult to find where they live — 73% versus 78%.
• A majority of Hispanics (57%) say they do not understand the financial problems involving Wall Street investment banks or other companies with ties to the housing market.
• When asked about who is to blame for the current economic financial crisis, Hispanics cite individuals taking on too much debt (76%), lending policies of banks and financial institutions (70%) and the lack of adequate government regulation of financial institutions (67%).

Personal Financial Situation

• More than three-quarters of Hispanics say their personal finances are in fair (46%) or poor shape (30%).
• Hispanics are more likely than the general U.S. population to rate their personal financial situation as poor or fair — 75% versus 61%.
• More than eight-in-ten (84%) foreign-born Hispanics report that their finances are in either fair or poor shape. Among the native born, 66% say as much.
• Two-thirds (67%) of Latinos expect their personal financial situation to improve in the coming year, compared with 56% of the general population.
• Nearly one-in-four (23%) Latinos report that they have more debt than they can afford, while 25% of the general population reports the same.
• Hispanics are more likely than the general population to report that they have no credit card or installment loan debt — 28% versus 19%.

Economic Behaviors

• Almost half of Latinos (47%) say they delayed or canceled plans to buy a car or make some other major purchase in the past year.
• More than seven-in-ten (71%) Latinos say they have cut back spending on eating out as a result of the economic downturn.
• Two-thirds (67%) of Latinos say they planned to curtail holiday spending as a result of the economic downturn.
• More than one-quarter (28%) of Latinos report that as a result of the economic downturn, they helped a family member or friend with a loan in the past year.
• Nearly two-in-ten (17%) say they received a loan from a family member or a friend in the past year.

Read the full report at pewhispanic.org.

Notes

¹ “Psychology of Bad Times Fueling Consumer Cutbacks,” Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Dec. 11, 2008.

Summary

Most Latino immigrants maintain some kind of connection to their native country by sending remittances, traveling back or telephoning relatives, but the extent of their attachment varies considerably. Only one-in-ten (9%) do all three of these so-called transnational activities; these immigrants can be considered highly attached to their home country. A much larger minority (28%) of foreign-born Latinos is involved in none of these activities and can be considered to have a low level of engagement with the country of origin. Most Latino immigrants (63%) show moderate attachment to their home country; they engage in one or two of these activities.

Latino immigrants who have been in the United States for decades and those who arrived as children are less connected than those who arrived more recently or migrated as adults. There are also significant differences by country of origin, with Colombians and Dominicans maintaining more active connections than Mexicans, and with Cubans having the least contact.

Whether Latino immigrants maintain active, moderate or limited connections is an important marker of their attitudes toward the United States, their native country and their own lives as migrants. Those with the highest levels of engagement have deeper attachments to their country of origin than immigrants whose connections are less robust. They also have more favorable views of their native country in comparisons with the U.S. Nonetheless, a clear majority of even these immigrants see their future in the U.S. rather than in the countries from which they come.

Most Latino immigrants reveal moderate levels of engagement with the home country — both in the extent of their transnational activities and in their attitudes. They maintain some connections to the country of their birth through such activities as sending money or phoning regularly. And their opinions blend optimism about life in the U.S. and positive evaluations of some aspects of American society (notably political traditions) with less favorable comparisons to their native land on other aspects (such as morals). Their attachments and identities are a mix of views that might be expected of people navigating an emotional terrain that encompasses two nations. That mix differs in several important respects, with people who have been in the U.S. longer being more ready than recent arrivals to declare this country their homeland and to describe themselves as Americans.

The Pew Hispanic Center’s 2006 National Survey of Latinos collected data on a variety of transnational activities and a wide range of attitudes and beliefs. This report is based on a new analysis of that survey data, which for the first time examines the extent to which Latino immigrants with different characteristics maintain connections to their native lands and assesses how different levels of transnational activities are associated with an immigrant’s views on key subjects. The analysis thus explores the question of whether maintaining connections to a country of origin is associated with more positive or negative views of the U.S., a greater or lesser sense of attachment to this country and a stronger or weaker sense of identity as an American.

The 2006 survey was conducted by telephone among a random sample of 2,000 Hispanic adults from June 5 to July 3. The respondents include 1,429 foreign-born Latinos whose activities and attitudes are explored in this report. Respondents could choose to be interviewed in English or Spanish. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8% for the full sample and plus or minus 4.4% for the foreign-born sample. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by International Communications Research, an independent research firm headquartered in Media, Pa. (See appendix for detailed methodology. The full dataset is available for download at www.pewhispanic.org.)

Other major findings include:

• Although transnational activities are a central characteristic of the Latino immigrant experience, only a small share of the immigrant population regularly engages in all three of the activities measured in the survey. Only one-in-ten (9%) of all Latino immigrants send remittances, make phone calls at least once a week and have traveled back to their country of origin in the past two years. Meanwhile, nearly three-in-ten (28%) do not engage in any of these activities. Most Latino immigrants (63%) engage in one or two of these activities.
• Just over half of all Latino immigrants (51%) send remittances (money sent to relatives in their country of origin) and 41% talk by telephone with a relative or friend there at least once a week. However, these activities are much more common among recent arrivals than among those who have been in the U.S. for many years. Among those in this country for less than 10 years, 63% send remittances and 62% phone at least weekly. Among those here for 30 years or more, 36% send remittances and 19% call at least weekly.
• Travel back to countries of origin follows a different pattern. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of all Latino immigrants have made at least one trip to their native country since moving to the U.S., and 29% have traveled in the past two years. The share making trips in the recent past is higher among immigrants with long tenure than among the recent arrivals. Acquiring U.S. citizenship, which is more common among those with more years of residence, is associated with higher levels of recent travel.
• The extent of engagement with the home country varies by country of origin. Larger shares of immigrants from Colombia and the Dominican Republic travel back and make frequent phone calls than those from Mexico and El Salvador. Levels of remittance sending are similar for Mexicans, Dominicans and Colombians but higher for Salvadorans. Cubans, who face significant legal restrictions on contact with their native land, have the lowest level of engagement among the major Hispanic country of origin groups.
• Two-thirds of Latino immigrants (66%) say they plan to stay in the U.S. for good, but this intention varies significantly depending on how long an individual has been in this country. Among those here for fewer than 10 years, 51% say they plan to stay, a view shared by 85% of those who have already been here more than 30 years.
• Half of Latino immigrants (49%) say that their country of birth is their “real homeland,” while more than a third (38%) look upon the United States in that way. This measure of attachment also varies according to the amount of time someone has been here. More than twice as many immigrants who have been in the U.S. for fewer than 10 years (69%) cite their country of origin, compared with those here 30 years or more (32%). Among Latino immigrants who are not U.S. citizens, 59% say their country of origin is their real homeland, compared with 33% of those who have become U.S. citizens.
• Higher levels of engagement with the home country are associated with weaker attachment to the U.S. across several indicators. Immigrants engaging in more transnational activities are more likely to say that their country of origin is their real homeland, for example. Those with high engagement are also less likely to say that they plan to stay in the U.S. for good, but a clear majority of even these immigrants still see their future in the U.S. rather than in the countries from which they come.

While short-term changes in immigration flows are difficult to measure, several indicators suggest a possible slackening in migration from Mexico since mid- 2006. The Mexican-born population in the United States has continued to increase, but the rate of growth appears to have slowed in recent months.

This assessment is based on data that indirectly reflect the pace of migration over time and are subject to statistical fluctuations, survey effects and other phenomena that limit the ability to accurately measure changes in immigration flows across short periods of time. No data offer specific measures of the number of foreign-born individuals entering the country at a given point in time.

Nonetheless, a similar pattern is evident across four indicators examined in this fact sheet: the size of the Mexican-born population living in the U.S.; the number of Hispanic immigrants employed in the U.S., particularly in the construction industry; remittance receipts reported by the Bank of Mexico; and apprehensions of people crossing illegally into the U.S. along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Overall migration flows to the U.S. — the number of foreign-born coming to live in the U.S. — surged at the end of the 1990s, peaked in 2000 and then fell off by more than a quarter following the 2001 recession and the slow recovery of the U.S. labor market. The size of migration flows then began to increase again in 2004. Mexicans accounted for roughly one-third of the annual flow throughout this period, and changes in the flow from Mexico closely tracked the overall trend.¹

The available data suggest that the total population of Mexicans living in the U.S. grew steadily since 2004, with the total number entering the country — both legally and illegally — holding at relatively high levels or even increasing through mid-2006. The trend then appears to have changed towards smaller flows. Although the size of the change cannot be calculated with precision, the four indicators examined in this fact sheet all suggest less rapid growth in the first quarter of 2007 and perhaps also in the second half of 2006 compared with 2004 and 2005.

Migration flows, especially from Mexico, have been highly responsive in the past to levels of demand for new workers in the U.S. economy. However, a wide variety of factors, ranging from political conditions in sending countries to enforcement efforts by U.S. immigration authorities, can also affect the pace of immigration. The available data does not permit an assessment of which factors might be responsible for the slackening growth in migration flows from Mexico or their relative importance. This analysis does not attempt to forecast future flows, either for the short or long term.

Notes

¹See “Rise, Peak and Decline: Trends in U.S. Immigration 1992-2004,” Pew Hispanic Center, 2005.