Hispanics and Latinos in Houston
The Hispanic population in Houston is increasing as more immigrants from Latin American countries come to work in the area.
As of 2011[update] many Hispanics in Houston are not U.S. citizens, especially those living in Gulfton and Spring Branch, and are therefore ineligible to vote in elections.
[2] As of 2006 Karl Eschbach, a University of Texas Medical Branch demographer, said that the number of illegal (undocumented) immigrants in the Houston area was estimated at 400,000.
Due to Latin American social customs, Hispanic women tended to walk, or use public buses when traveling for goods or work; otherwise they stayed at home.
[9] In 1991, most Hispanic-owned businesses in Greater Houston were in industries with lower profit margins, such as construction, distribution, and services.
[10] Fiesta Mart was established in 1972 by two non-Hispanic white men;[11] one of them, Donald Bonham, wished to create a store serving Hispanic and Latino customers.
[12] Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal said "The company has been successful at targeting the Hispanic market and specifically catering to their needs and shopping styles.
[16] Another Mi Tienda opened in north Houston in 2011; it is twice the size of the original location,[17] and has 97,000 square feet (9,000 m2) of space.
[12] In April 2009 Wal-Mart opened the 39,000-square-foot (3,600 m2) "Supermercado de Walmart," a store designed to appeal to Hispanic customers, in Spring Branch.
[19] Converted from a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market,[20] it was the first "Supermercado de Walmart" opened by the company in the United States.
From the same period Hispanics began to move into a portion of the southeast metropolitan area, including sections of Pasadena and the City of South Houston by an amount between 1,000 and 3,500 per square mile.
Some communities in Greater Houston which do not have Hispanics as the predominant ethnic group include expensive, predominately non-Hispanic white communities such as Memorial, Uptown, and West University Place; and historically African American neighborhoods located south and northeast of Downtown Houston.
Between 1990 and 2000, the numbers of Hispanic and Latino Americans in Kashmere Gardens, South Park, Sunnyside, and the Third Ward increased.
As of the same year, most Hispanic and Latino candidates elected to public office in Houston are Mexican Americans, who are members of the Democratic Party.
Lori Rodriguez of the Houston Chronicle said in 2001 that "the top tier of Latino politicos mainly walk in lock step.
[9] In 2007 most of the Hispanic and Latino political power was Mexican American, aligned with the Democratic Party, and made up of residents of eastern Houston.
But many of the most vocal leaders who participated in immigration rallies were Hispanics of Central American origin who resided mostly in Southwest Houston.
[27] Robert Jara, a political consultant of the group Campaign Strategies, drew the boundaries of District J in order to ensure that heavily Hispanic Gulfton and Sharpstown were together in one area.
[32] Sarah Cortez published a memoir titled Walking Home: Growing Up Hispanic in Houston which discusses her religious faith.
The Houston mosque, decorated in a manner similar to that of the Mezquita de Córdoba,[36] is operated by the organization IslamInSpanish.
[41] Mexican migration into Houston increased in the late 19th century with the expansion of the railroad system and following social disruption due to Porfirio Díaz becoming President of Mexico.
Since the mid-1990s changes in immigration from Cuba to the United States occurred due to the wet feet, dry feet policy and other policy changes; many Cubans immigrated through Mexico and people who did not have relatives in Miami settled in Houston; this caused an expansion of Houston's Cuban American community.
[47] From May 2012 to February 17, 2013, counselors at the refugee services office of the Galveston-Houston Catholic charities assisted 450 Cuban immigrants coming to the Houston area.
"[47] The American Community Survey from the US Census Bureau reported that there were approximately 25 250 Cubans living in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2013.
By 2004 many Venezuelans fleeing the economic changes by the Hugo Chávez government settled in the Houston area due to the presence of the oil industry.
As of 2015 two restaurants, Budare Arepa Express and Delis Café, according to Florian Martin of Houston Public Media, "could be considered the social centers of the Venezuelan community in Katy.
[citation needed] St. Faustina Catholic Church in Fulshear has a Spanish worship service that attracts Venezuelan people.
