CODEDI

COALITION FOR THE DIGNITY AND RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS

Latino Immigrant Community Background in Cincinnati:
The Latino population in the United States has close to doubled in size from 1990 to 2005. There are currently over 47 million persons of Latino descent living in the U.S., approximately 40% of whom are foreign born (Census Bureau, 2005). Latinos recently surpassed African Americans as the largest minority in the United States. It is estimated that by the year 2050, more than 25% of the U.S. population will be of Hispanic descent and that Hispanics will make up 15% of the U.S. workforce. This increase in population has also been accompanied by an increasing presence of Hispanics in areas of the country, like Cincinnati, which have not traditionally had a large Hispanic population and therefore do not have the bilingual infrastructure to deal with the rapid growth of this largely immigrant population.

The Cincinnati area has an estimated Latino population of 60,000 compared with just 10,000 in 1990. The vast majority of this population is made up of immigrants and their children, almost all of whom have come here in the last 10 years. Most of the immigrants come from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Peru, but many also come from other nations of Central America South America and the Caribbean. The Cincinnati Latino immigrant population is dispersed though out the eight counties that comprises the Greater Cincinnati area. This includes counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana with the greatest concentration of people in the cities of Cincinnati, Hamilton, Springdale, and Westchester.

The immigrant Latino community in Cincinnati is young with roughly 80% in their teens and twenties. Many of the immigrants come from rural areas in their home countries and a significant number are from Indigenous communities and speak a pre-Columbian language. The two largest indigenous groups in Cincinnati are the Mam from Guatemala and the Mixteco from Mexico. While there is a wide range in educational experience, from college education to no formal education at all, among Latino immigrants in Cincinnati the majority have between a third and eighth grade education. Most work as low-wage, unskilled labor in factories, meat packing, food service, hotels and restaurants, construction, food processing, and janitorial services. As immigrants often are, they are courageous in making the attempt to find work in another country, they quickly adapt to conditions here and attempt to make the best of them, and they attempt to learn English and to understand American culture. However, the lack of an historic Latino presence in Cincinnati means there is almost no bilingual infrastructure or organizations that are familiar with the struggles immigrants face that can help facilitate their integration into the larger community. CODEDI was born out of this need and is the first Latino immigrant led organization in Cincinnati.

CODEDI is an organization of Latin American immigrants and their allies that works to improve the quality of life for immigrants by facilitating their integration into the greater Cincinnati area. CODEDI works to foster immigrant leadership and civic participation though education, organization and action. CODEDI also works with established communities and organizations in the area to help them better understand and work with the immigrant community. Through its work CODEDI hopes to provide programs that will allow immigrants to capitalize on their desire to learn, improve themselves, and find a place for themselves and their cultures in American society for the benefit of themselves and all residents of the area.

Powered by

KB Photography & Design

Codedi 931 McPherson Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45205 Phone:(513)921-6080

Spanish

TPS for Guatemalans

Petition

Mas....

Benefits for Guatemalans