Colombian Americans
  
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|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
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1,081,838 (2015) 0.34% of the U.S. population 2015 |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
| Predominantly in Miami/Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach Area, New York, NY, Orlando, FL, Los Angeles, Tampa, FL, and New Jersey. Growing populations in Greater Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Greater Houston. | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish, American English | |
| Religion | |
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Predominantly: Protestantism, Evangelicalism, Baptism, Judaism |
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| Related ethnic groups | |
| Spaniards, White Colombian, Mestizo, Afro-Colombian, German Colombian, Italian Colombian, Lebanese Colombian, Jewish-Colombian, Demographics of Colombia |
Predominantly:
Roman Catholicism
Colombian Americans (Spanish: colombo-americanos, norteamericanos de origen colombiano or estadounidenses de origen colombiano) are Americans who trace their full or partial nationality or heritage to Colombia. They are the largest South American ethnic group in the United States.
The first Colombians immigrants who settled in the United States likely arrived in the 1800s. However, the Colombian presence in United States would not be known with certainty since the federal census did not specify the country of origin for South Americans until 1960. These immigrants did not maintain any relation with their native countries, just until a few generations after, they identify themselves only as Americans.
The first Colombian community formed after World War I, through the arrival of several hundred professionals (nurses, accountants, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, and bilingual secretaries) that established themselves in New York City; later on, more people were added to the community when Colombian students decided to stay in the US after earning their degrees. Most immigrants settled in Jackson Heights, a middle-class neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, that has good housing, schools and churches. The growth of the Colombian American population was slow until 1940, when there was an increase in Colombian immigration to New York.
Most Colombians who arrived after the mid-1960s wanted to stay in the United States temporarily. Therefore, the number of Colombian illegal immigrants increased: from 250,000 to 350,000 people in the mid 1970s. Despite a succession of immigration laws, the Colombian population in the United States continued to grow. New York remained the most popular destination. Smaller communities formed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. and in the 1970s, North Side, Chicago.
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Wikipedia