It has been used in the U.S. Census since 1980. Due to the popular use of “Latino” in the western portion of the United States, the government adopted this term as well in 1997， and it was used in the 2000 census.

Hispanics and Latinos constitute 15.4% of the total United States population, or 46.89 million people, forming the second largest ethnic group，after non-Hispanic White Americans (which is also composed of dozens of sub-groups). Again, Hispanic and Ladno Americans are the largest ethnic minority in the United States; Black Americans, in turn, are the largest racial minority, after White Americans in general (non-Hispanic and Hispanic).

Some 64% of the nation s Hispanic population are of Mexican ongin are of Puerto Rican origin, with about 3% each of Cuban, Salvadoran remainder are of other Central American or South American origin, or About 7% are of unspecified national origins. It should be noted that these figures pertain to ethnic identification, since the same data set indicates that 60.2% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans were in the United States.

(see table below). Another 9% and Dominican origins. The of origin directly firom Spain.

Mexican American, Mexican, Chicano, Latino, Hispano, Spanish-American, and Latin American have all been used at one dme or another and have been applied co the same group in different regions. Today, 14 million Mexicans, most of whom reside in the south and west, continue to struggle under An^o control and domination. Mexican Americans retain a heritage of having been absorbed into American society originally as a conquered group. Mexico gained its independence from Spain inl810, and its territory at that time encompassed an area as far north as what is today Colorado. Most of its northern Mexican region was inhabited by Indians and a small number of Mexicans. As a means of populating the area，the Mexican government in 1821 granted permission for foreigners — mainly Americans — to settle in the area that today is Texas. America’s ambition to annex more territory led to the Mexican War in 1848，which proved disastrous for Mexico, for it lost more than half its territory. The US acquired what is today the states of California, Colorado，New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and most of Arizona in addition to Texas. Mexicans living on those lands were subsequently incorporated into the US much in the ^shion of classic European colonialism. Unlike any other ethnic group，Mexican Americans today inhabit an area that was once part of their native society.

Over the past two centuries, the population of Mexico has been transformed into one dominated by mestizos, a physical type combining European and Indian traits. They live mainly in the 5 southwestern states of California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. 80% of them live in urban areas. Mexicans are the largest immigrant group in the U^S” and their numbers are swelled by a continual flow of illegal entrants.

Puerto Ricans in the US
Puerto Rico became territory of the US in 1898 following the Spanish - American War, and in 1917 the inhabitants of the island were given the status of American citizenship. This enabled them to emigrate frcdy to the Mainland with no restrictions. Puerto Ricans are not technically immigrants, even though they come to the mainland firom a distinctly alien culture. Puerto Ricans inherit a racial background that is a combination primarily of European and African but also Indian elements. African population originally brought to the island as slaves intermarried with whites over several generations, and today，although they cover the entire color spectrum, many Puerto Ricans are racially “intermediate”.

Puerto Ricans are a relatively recent immigrant group. The greatest influx occurred during the 1950s, when nearly 20% of the island’s population moved to the mainland. In the 1970s, as the US economy stagnated and low-skilled jobs disappeared, the migration to the mainland ceased and in fact a net return migration was sustained chrou^iout the decade. The push-pull factors for Puerto Ricans to migrate have been a surplus population in an economically depressed society seeking better economic conditions. Two factors increased the appeal of the mainland US: citizenship ri^its (with no restrictions, quotas or other legal steps) and airline service (cheap and rapid). Almost two-thirds of all Puerto Ricans in the mainland US live in New York City, where they make 15% of the population (3 million), and the remainder are found mostly in dties of the Northeast.