Guatemalan Americans

Guatemalans have migrated to the U.S. since the 1930s and 1940s. Along with other Central Americans they first arrived by way of Mexico and settled in urban areas like Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Houston, New York City, Oakland, San Francisco, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

The largest influx of Guatemalans into the United States, however, started occurring in the 1970s and 1980s, peaking in the 1990s due to the Guatemalan Civil War. Tens of thousands of Guatemalan refugees moved into the United States via Mexico;[3] these refugees were both documented and undocumented. The Guatemalan Civil War ended in 1996. After September 11, 2001, new laws were enacted in Mexico limiting immigration visas and introduced other measures on the southern Mexican border through Plan Sur, a binational treaty with the Guatemalan government. There were 430,000 undocumented Guatemalans by 2008. 71% of Guatemalan immigrants are undocumented.[4]

During the 1950s, there were 45,000 documented immigrants from Central America. In the 1960s, this number more than doubled to 100,000. In the decade after, it increased to 134,000. 26,000 of these immigrants were Guatemalan.[5] Following the 1950s, Guatemala had been full of unrest with military dictatorships, civil wars, and a thirty-six year long guerrilla war. Those wars produced over 200,000 deaths, as well as the displacement of nearly one million refugees. In 1996, the Guatemalan government signed a peace accord. This ended the war; however, the war did not end for many Guatemalans who had to live alongside those who inflicted violence throughout their country.

During the Cold War, many Guatemalans immigrated to the United States due to the lack of stability from U.S. intervention. Consequently, many Guatemalans received Temporary Protected Status during that time period. These same Guatemalans lost that status once the war ended.[4]

Migration from Central America had always been below 50,000. However, in 1970, the census had counted 113,913 Central American immigrants. 17,536 of those immigrants were of Guatemalan descent. This was a dramatic increase from the 5,381 count from the decade prior.[6] The 1970s was when the United States experienced a high increase of Guatemalans. According to the 1970 census, there were 17,356 Guatemalans. This is a stark increase considering that there were only 5,381 Guatemalans when the 1960 census was taken.[6] Immigration to the United States from Guatemala truly increased in 1977 with a total of 3,599. This was an 82% increase since the year prior.[6] For the most part, this was due to the lack of stability within Guatemala's agricultural economy. For many Guatemalans, the agricultural economy was the job market for the disadvantaged. This market was not enough to sustain Guatemalans at the time - the unemployment rate was 25% and the poverty rate was at 84%[6] In the 1970s, Guatemala experienced a culmination of factors that decreased their ability to uplift themselves from poverty. The infant mortality rate between 1970–1973 in Guatemala was around 82%.[6] These circumstances included an increasing unemployment rate, as well as decreasing wages and opportunities in the rural sector. In 1976, they experienced an earthquake that left many homeless. These factors combined with the general violence caused many Guatemalans to look toward internal, intraregional, and international migration throughout the 1970s and 1980s. When fleeing conflict, many Guatemalans sought refuge in Mexico. For many, Mexico was just another transit point within their journeys. In 1982, Mexico experienced an economic crisis, which had made it difficult for many Guatemalans to sustain themselves. This helps explain the increase of Guatemalans entering the United States throughout the 1980s.[5] Many indigenous Guatemalan workers in Mexico were recruited to work with companies within the United States. Many of these workers were already workers in Central American assembly plants. Therefore, the skills were transferable to plants in the United States. As a result, many moved to Los Angeles during the 1970s.[5] Unemployment increased from 25% in the 1970s to over 40% in the 1980s. Rural poverty was at 84% and urban poverty was at 47%. This was difficult for many impoverished Guatemalans, because many were reliant on the agricultural economy as their source of employment.[7]

During the 1980s, many revolutionary/guerrilla groups merged together to become the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG); the Guatemalan government responded with military action, which included the genocide of 150,000 civilians during 1981 to 1983. Ultimately, this formed a ripple effect, which led to displacement and migration to both Mexico and the United States for many Guatemalans and Mayas.[7] Mass migration from Guatemala occurred during the 1980s; as a result, changing the relationship with the United States. During this time, Guatemala was experiencing high levels of poverty along with social and political unrest.[7] Guatemalans sought refuge during the 1980s due to civil war and economic devastation. However, at the time, they were not granted asylum. Despite, this female asylum-seekers have been able to receive asylum since then. Femicide has become more prevalent in Guatemala. In this manner, many United States courts have been granting asylum due to the increase in femicide in Guatemala.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed in the United States in 1986. Following IRCA, most documented Guatemalan Americans were able to receive legal admission through the petitioning of family members already in the United States. Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) disadvantaged incoming Guatemalan immigrants, because it allowed for documentation to those who entered prior to 1982; however, Guatemalan immigration largely took place after 1982.

In 1997, immigration was further limited for Guatemalans through the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act. This act allowed Central American asylum-seekers to be documented in the United States but called for deportation for those undocumented. At the time, many of those people were Guatemalan Americans.[4] Deportation of undocumented immigrants have consequences of socioeconomic mobility within Guatemala. Households in Guatemala that receive money from Guatemalans in the United States are able to pull themselves into a better economic standing. By contrast, households which lose that money experience downward mobility.[7]

Luis E. Arreaga, former ambassador to Guatemala and Iceland

Compared to the U.S. Hispanic population and U.S. population in total, Guatemalans are found to have significantly lower levels of educational attainment across the population. They are less likely than U.S. born citizens to earn a bachelor's degree, with only 9% of Guatemalans age 25 or older having received one in 2013.[13] Despite this, studies demonstrate that Guatemalan Americans have one of the highest levels of participation within the work force. 31% of those Guatemalan Americans work within the service sector.[14]

Pili Tobar serves as White House Deputy Communications Director in the Biden administration.

Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the Northeast and Southern California. A combined population of 267,335 resides in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. There is also a Guatemalan community in Las Vegas.[15]

The Northeast megalopolis, extending from Northern Virginia to north of Boston, is home to a population of 257,729 Guatemalans. Cities such as Langley Park, Trenton, Stamford, Providence and Lynn have significant concentrations of Guatemalans along the corridor.

Distribution by state

State/Territory	Guatemalan Population[16]	Percent
Alabama	15,282	0.3%
Alaska	508	0.9%
Arizona	13,426	0.2%
Arkansas	4,533	0.2%
California	332,737	0.9%
Colorado	7,488	0.1%
Connecticut	16,715	0.5%
Delaware	5,202	0.6%
District of Columbia	2,635	0.4%
Florida	83,882	0.4%
Georgia	36,874	0.4%
Hawaii	565	0.0%
Idaho	1,168	0.1%
Illinois	35,321	0.3%
Indiana	5,933	0.1%
Iowa	4,917	0.2%
Kansas	5,538	0.2%
Kentucky	5,231	0.1%
Louisiana	6,660	0.1%
Maine	457	0.0%
Maryland	34,491	0.6%
Massachusetts	32,812	0.5%
Michigan	8,428	0.1%
Minnesota	6,754	0.1%
Mississippi	2,978	0.1%
Missouri	6,610	0.1%
Montana	200	0.0%
Nebraska	8,616	0.5%
Nevada	13,407	0.5%
New Hampshire	743	0.1%
New Jersey	48,869	0.6%
New Mexico	2,386	0.1%
New York	73,806	0.4%
North Carolina	20,206	0.2%
North Dakota	134	0.0%
Ohio	8,680	0.1%
Oklahoma	7,960	0.2%
Oregon	7,703	0.2%
Pennsylvania	11,462	0.1%
Rhode Island	18,852	1.8%
South Carolina	8,883	0.2%
South Dakota	1,620	0.2%
Tennessee	14,323	0.2%
Texas	66,244	0.3%
Utah	6,877	0.2%
Vermont	215	0.0%
Virginia	33,556	0.4%
Washington	9,520	0.1%
West Virginia	347	0.0%
Wisconsin	3,037	0.1%
Wyoming	418	0.1%
Total U.S. Guatemalan Population	1,044,209	0.3%

Oscar Isaac performing at Universidad Francisco Marroquín, February 2015.

• Luis E. Arreaga – American diplomat and United States Ambassador in Guatemala and Iceland.
• Luis von Ahn – Entrepreneur and an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University
• Joseph Baena – American actor, bodybuilder, fitness model and real estate agent. Son of Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of Guatemalan descent from his mother's side.
• Aston Matthews – American hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California.
• Luis Beza – American trumpet player for third-wave ska band Suburban Legends.
• David Campos – Guatemalan-American attorney and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 9.
• René Corado – Guatemalan-American ornithologist and writer.[17]
• David Estrada – of Guatemalan descent.
• Francisco Goldman – American novelist, journalist, and Allen K. Smith Professor of Literature and Creative Writing. He is son of a Guatemalan Catholic mother and Jewish-American father.[18]
• Ted Hendricks – Guatemalan born, former American football linebacker who logged 15 seasons for the Baltimore Colts (1969–73), the Green Bay Packers (1974) and the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders (1975–83) in the National Football League.
• Oscar Isaac – Guatemalan born American raised[19] actor and singer.
• Ed Lopez – American Republican Party activist and National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He is of Guatemalan descent.[20]
• Manny Marroquin – Grammy winning mixing engineer. Guatemalan born, his family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War.[21]
• Benito Martinez – American actor most known for his role as police captain (later city councilman) David Aceveda in the television series The Shield
• Delia Ramirez - American politician born to Guatemalan immigrant parents.[22]
• Rubio Rubin – American soccer player of Guatemalan and Mexican descent.[23][24]
• AraabMuzik – American hip hop record producer of Dominican and Guatemalan descent.[25]
• KC Porter – American record producer, songwriter, musician and singer
• Bridget Powers – American hardcore pornographic actress.
• Tony Revolori –Guatemalan American actor (Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home)
• Pam Rodriguez – American glamour model of Guatemalan and Puerto Rican descent.[26]
• Devorah Rose – Guatemalan/Venezuelan American socialite
• Juana Samayoa – Guatemalan-American actress and television presenter.
• Gadi Schwartz – NBC News Correspondent[27]
• Willie Sims – Guatemalan born, American raised soccer player
• Ryan Spilborghs – American professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.
• Héctor Tobar – Los Angeles author and journalist.
• Norma Torres – Politician. She is Guatemalan born but American raised.
• David Unger – Guatemalan-American author and translator.
• Daphne Zuniga – American actress (Melrose Place, One Tree Hill and Spaceballs). Her father was originally from Guatemala.[28]
• Anthony Gonzalez – American actor.
• Ricky Duran – Guatemalan-American recording artist. Runner-up of season 17 of the American talent competition The Voice.

• Guatemala–United States relations
• History of Central Americans in Los Angeles

• Jonas, Susanne; Rodríguez, Nestor (2015). Guatemala-U.S. Migration. doi:10.7560/760608. ISBN 978-0-292-76315-9.

• Ashabranner, Brent. Children of the Maya: A Guatemalan Indian Odyssey (1986).
• Burns, Allan. Maya in Exile: Guatemalans in Florida (Temple UP, 1993).
• Calvert, Peter. Guatemala: A Nation in Turmoil (1985).
• Chinchilla, Norma S., and Nora Hamilton, eds. Seeking Community in a Global City: Guatemalans and Salvadorans in Los Angeles (Temple UP, 2001).
• Hagan, Jacqueline Maria. Deciding to Be Legal: A Maya Community in Houston (Temple UP, 1994).
• Hong, Maria (2014). "Guatemalan Americans". Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Vol. 2. pp. 275–291. Gale CX3273300083.
• Loucky, James, and Marilyn Moors, eds. Maya Diaspora: Guatemalan Roots, New American Lives (Temple UP 2000).
• Taylor, Matthew J.; Moran-Taylor, Michelle J.; Rodman Ruiz, Debra (January 2006). "Land, ethnic, and gender change: Transnational migration and its effects on Guatemalan lives and landscapes". Geoforum. 37 (1): 41–61. doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2004.12.002.
• Wilson, Tamar Diana (September 2004). "Under Stress: Guatemalan and Salvadoran Migrations". Latin American Perspectives. 31 (5): 165–171. doi:10.1177/0094582X04268414. S2CID 144906643.