The common misconception is that every immigrant in the United States are Mexicans. One fact from the article “Who are new England’s Immigrants” by Mamie Marcuss and Ricardo Borgos states that there are 26,000 Mexicans living in New England, making 2 percent of the foreign born population. Portuguese immigrants are the regions largest immigrants group. Not only are the immigrants from Portugal, but other countries that speak Portuguese such as Brazilians and Cape Verde. According to Marcuss and Borgos, “New England is a hub for Portuguese-speaking people—be they from Portugal, Brazil, or Cape Verde. Portuguese immigrants are the region’s largest foreign-born group. Brazilians constitute one of the leading groups of recent immigrants, and more.” (15)
Not All Immigrants are Mexican!!
America’s always associate immigrants to Mexicans because of the idea that they are the largest hispanic group in the country. However, there are differences between the region of New England and the United States in the sense that Mexicans do not make up most of the immigrant population. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, “New England has no single country of origin that contributes such a large fraction of immigrants. Portugal, the leading country of origin for the region, accounts for only 7 percent of the region’s immigrants.” The only countries New England has in common with the entire country as a whole in terms of immigrant demographics are China, India, and Canada.
The chart above shows New Englands immigrant demographics compared to the nation demographics. As you can see, the largest population of immigrants in the nation is Mexican, as compared to New England it is larger. This presents the idea that immigrants are not always associated with Mexicans, but deal with people from other cultural backgrounds.
The Truth Behind America 