Honduran Americans


Honduran Americans are Americans of Honduran origin. Honduran Americans are a group of people who may descend from Spanish, Honduran Native, Garifuna, African, Palestinian and Chinese people, Creoles among many others
The Honduran population at the 2010 Census was 837,694. Hondurans are the eighth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the third largest Central American population, after Salvadorans and Guatemalans.

History

The first Hondurans came to United States in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, in the 1820s, while the country, part of Central America, gained its independence from Spain and was founded as the republic of Honduras. All periods of conflict have led to minor waves of Honduran emigration to the United States. This was the case after the 1956 military coup.
Hondurans immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, primarily to Miami, New York City, and Los Angeles. The main reason for Hondurans to leave their country was to escape poverty and to escape the military regime in hopes of establishing a better life in the United States.
U.S. roots of Honduran Emigration
The 1980s a period full of invasion of U.S. soldiers in Honduras. The United States government ordered hundreds of U.S. soldiers that were stationed at the nearby Palmerola Base during that period.
The United States involvement in Honduras is rooted in U.S. based banana companies. These companies transformed Honduras and exploited their people: "American companies “built railroads, established their own banking systems, and bribed government officials at a dizzying pace.” It is important to note that much of the wealth that was accumulated in Honduras was carried off to New Orleans, New York, and Boston. The conditions in Honduras worsened and much of the Honduran lands were being owned by U.S. companies. As a result, many Hondurans felt isolated in their own countries: "Honduran peasants “had no hope of access to their nation’s good soil". Due to the fact that the U.S. dominated much of the wealth and labor in Honduras, this caused sentiments of resentment, isolation, and anxiety as much of the native population had to deal with the reality of their economic situation. Furthermore, the United States is one of the main reasons that led to a huge migration of Hondurans to the United States. Moreover, leading to our nation's most debated issues in America: "illegal immigration".
Many Honduran-Americans are migrant farm laborers who first established themselves in the largest U.S. cities, in which they had support networks from the Honduran-American communities. In the late 1980s and 1990s, most Honduran Americans lived in New Orleans, New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. In 2000, Hondurans grew to be the third largest immigrant group from Central America.

Cultural

Military service

Honduran-Americans have actively participated in U.S. military service. A total of 13.7 percent of native Honduran-American males older than 16 years are in the military. In addition, 769 Honduran-American non-citizen males serve in the military.

Socioeconomics

Usually, Honduran-Americans live in areas with high economic growth and demand for employment in construction, domestic services, and other industries. Many Honduran-Americans suffer discrimination, as other Hispanic groups do.
Honduran-American girls tend to spend more years in school than Honduran-Americans boys, in part due to pressure by their families on boys to start working at age 12 or 14. A total of 1,091 Honduran-Americans have a master's degree, 862 have other professional degrees, and 151 have a doctoral degree. The majority of these individuals are women.

Demographics

According to the 2010 United States Census there are 633,401 Hondurans living in the United States. By 2011, the number of Hondurans estimated to reside in the United States by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey was 702,000. In 2014, according to Pew Research, "60% of 573,000 Honduran immigrants in the U.S. are unauthorized".

Notable people