Latinos see the U.S. as a place of better opportunities, poll shows

A new Pew Research Center poll shows that Latinos think the United States offers more opportunities, is better for raising kids and provides better healthcare access than their home countries.

In a survey of 3,375 Latinos conducted in March 2021, the Pew Research Center found that many believe that the U.S. offers “a chance at a better life than the place their Latino ancestors came from in several ways.” The Hispanics surveyed hold these views regardless of whether they were born in another country or the U.S.

However, the poll found that Latinos do not think of the U.S. as better than their home countries on all measures. Around 48 percent of those surveyed believe that family ties are better in their place of origin than in the U.S. 

Around 87 percent of the Hispanics surveyed claimed that the opportunity to get ahead in the U.S. is higher than in their ancestors’ place of origin. Three-quarters of Latino adults said that the U.S. has better conditions for raising children. Around 69 percent believe that access to healthcare is better in the U.S. than in their country of origin.

Hispanics were split on whether the U.S. or the place of origin of their ancestors treats immigrants better. Around 34 percent claimed they were treated better in the U.S., and 38 percent said they did not find any difference in treatment. 

Roughly half of the migrants interviewed who are not U.S. citizens or hold a green card said that the treatment is the same in the U.S. as in their place of origin. 

If they had to make the choice again, 84 percent of those surveyed said they would migrate to the U.S. again. This was also found to be true among the group that migrated without legal status. 

Latin American migrants account for half of the 59 million immigrants that have come to the U.S. since 1965. In 2019, Latinos made up 44 percent of the country’s 44.7 million immigrants. One-quarter of the population comes from Mexico.