OSU Special Collections and Research Center / Submitted photoLatino workers pick potato in a field in Klamath County in 1943.

Susana Rivera-Mills couldn’t wait to connect with other Oregon Latinos when she moved to Corvallis in 2007. Oregon’s Latino community had not been extensively researched, so as a native of El Salvador and socio-linguist studying Latino communities, Oregon appeared to be a frontier of opportunity.

She shared some of her research last week during an OSU-Cascades Science Pub titled “Beyond Mexican Food: Getting to Know Latinos in Oregon,” to a full house of nearly 100 people at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in downtown Bend. She is the executive associate dean of Oregon State University’s College of Liberal Arts in Corvallis, and a professor of Spanish linguistics. Her lecture highlighted the population growth of Latinos and dispelled some of the myths on Latino immigration.

The term “Hispanic” was first coined by the U.S. Census Bureau, when it appeared on the census short form sent to all American households in 1980. Before that, most census forms simply categorized race and ethnicity as either white or nonwhite. Because of this, it can be difficult to get a clear picture of Latino populations in the U.S. prior to this time. Furthermore, the labels available for racial and ethnic identity are liable to change, and geographic regions may be defined differently with each survey. Although it can be difficult to find consistency in the data, it still provides some general patterns that are useful, said Rivera-Mills.

Today, 12.3 percent of Oregon’s population identifies as Hispanic, and 21 percent of them are younger than 18. The median age for Hispanics is 23, compared with 42 for non-Hispanic people in Oregon, according to 2013 census data. Rivera-Mills describes the Latino population growth as a tsunami coming our way.

“What is this going to mean when these (kids) graduate high school and come to our universities and colleges?” Rivera-Mills asked the crowd.

Jefferson County has the fourth-highest Hispanic population in all of Oregon — 19.9 percent. Jarold Ramsey is the president of Jefferson County’s Historical Society. Because of the lack of census data prior to 1980, it’s difficult to know exactly how many Latinos came to Central Oregon before then. He remembers a small influx of Latino people arriving in the late 1940s, but not more than a few families. He guesses the arrival of irrigation in 1946 also brought some farm laborers, especially in Culver. The real surge came in the early 1960s, he said.

“It’s an aspect of our history that we really don’t have much documented,” he said Thursday.

Hispanic populations elsewhere in Central Oregon are much smaller, but still growing at a much higher rate than other ethnic groups.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2040, 23 percent of Oregon’s population will be Latino. “Some of my colleagues like to call this the ‘silent reconquest,’” Rivera-Mills said.

An audience member asked her why the Latino population is growing so quickly. She attributes it to birth rates and immigration. The birth rate for Latino families averages three children per couple, compared with less than 1.5 children per couple for non-Latinos. This difference is largely because of “different ideologies and philosophies behind reproduction, behind families,” she said. “It isn’t good or bad, it’s just culturally different.”

Immigration is also a factor, but popular perceptions about how families immigrate into the U.S. are not necessarily accurate. Census data show that 63 percent of Latinos in Oregon were born in the U.S. Many Latino families moving to Oregon are coming from California, she said. Like other population groups coming into the state, they come with young families, seeking better education and a safer environment.

Another audience member asked Rivera-Mills whether there is a large transient population of Latinos in Oregon traveling back and forth to Mexico. While this may have been true 10 years ago, she said it is no longer the case.

“Because of the crackdown on the border and immigration legislation, it’s become so dangerous for people to cross the border,” she said. “Whether documented or undocumented, it’s become so difficult and complicated to become a resident, not to mention a U.S. citizen, that families are no longer taking the risk.” Instead, Oregon now sees much more migration within the state, from one Oregon city to another, depending on work opportunities, she said.

The Latino community in Oregon faces a lot of challenges. High school and college graduation rates are 10-12 percent lower for Latino students than their non-Latino classmates. Disparities exist in virtually all markers for economic prosperity, including annual earnings, poverty rates, health insurance coverage, and home ownership, according to census data.

As more Latinos immigrate into the U.S., native languages are lost over time. In Oregon, 30 percent of Latinos speak only English; 52 percent of Spanish-speaking Latinos also speak English very well, and 10 percent do not speak English at all. Rivera-Mills argues that loss of native language is a natural progression that happens over time with each passing generation. While some call for making English the county’s official language and emphasize a need for English-only policies, Rivera-Mills says English isn’t threatened.

“There is a lot (of discussion) about English only, and that we need this official language. The fact is, English is not in danger. It’s not like we’re going to lose English.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0354,

jrockow@bendbulletin.com