The Latino community in the United States is indispensable to the country’s prosperity, health, and future.
Source: CLAFH, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
WASHINGTON , July 2, 2026 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The popular narrative that Latinos take more from the United States than they contribute is not only incorrect, it’s dangerous. In an analysis published in the “Medicine & Society” section of the New England Journal of Medicine, the research team at the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing reports that Latinos are among the most significant contributors to the nation’s economic growth, labor force participation, and population health. At the same time, the authors warn that these false narratives and discriminatory policies demonstrably harm Latino communities and contribute to increased rates of disease, psychological distress, and preventable deaths.
In the research article “Correcting False Narratives: Indispensable Contributions of Latinos to the Health of the U.S. Population,” Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, founding director of CLAFH and executive director of the Policy Solutions Institute at the School, PhD, RN, and his colleagues document the breadth and depth of Latino contributions in the economic, social, health, and political sectors. The authors emphasize that addressing the health and social needs of the Latino community in the United States is not a matter of providing care to outsiders: Latinos are not frayed fringes on the border of the great American tapestry; Latinos are indispensable threads woven throughout the tapestry.
The article presents compelling data that overturns prevailing assumptions about the Latino community in the United States and its contributions to the country’s well-being:
Four out of five Latinos in the United States—approximately 79%—are U.S. citizens, either by birth or naturalization, and one in four children in the United States is of Hispanic origin. Latinos are the second-largest racial-ethnic group in the country; they are projected to number 100 million, or 27% of the U.S. population, by 2060.
The Latino community in the United States generates over $4 trillion in annual economic output. If measured independently, it would rank as the fifth largest economy in the world, surpassing the economies of the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and France.
Latinos have the highest labor force participation rate of all racial and ethnic groups. This population represents more than one-third of the construction workforce in the United States and contributes significantly to addressing the housing shortage. Latinos also contribute to wealth creation in the United States through higher rates of new homeownership than any other group.
Far from draining the healthcare system, undocumented immigrants (a small part of the overall Latino population) contribute over $50 billion annually in taxes and insurance premiums, five times more than is invested in their healthcare. In fact, they subsidize healthcare services for native-born U.S. citizens and sustain the system for everyone.
In the political arena, a record 16.6 million Latinos participated in the 2024 presidential election. This is the highest voter turnout ever recorded in this community and was a crucial factor in the results in several key states. With an additional 1.4 million people gaining the right to vote each year, Latinos constitute the second-largest racial and ethnic voting bloc in the country and a growing force in shaping national and state policy.
“Latinos are not secondary elements in American history; they are indispensable elements to the country’s history,” Guilamo-Ramos states. “The health of Latinos is the health of the United States. This means that the country can truly progress only when the contributions and needs of Latinos are recognized and prioritized. A rigorous analysis of future American prosperity, resilience, and well-being must fully acknowledge these facts.”
The article also highlights what is at stake for everyone in the United States when Latinos are neither valued nor protected. For example, Latinos make up 27% of home health aides and 22% of personal care aides—a critical workforce essential to ensuring the country can provide healthcare to a rapidly aging population. With the significant increase in demand for long-term care services, public policies that threaten this workforce could impose severe costs on American families and the entire healthcare system, as older adults are forced to move to nursing homes instead of aging in their own homes.
Despite their extraordinary contributions, false narratives and discriminatory policies have had a perceptible and preventable impact on Latino communities. Between 2015 and 2023, age-adjusted suicide rates among Latinos increased by 32%—compared to 5% in the non-Latino population—and overdose deaths rose by 187%, more than double the rate of other observed deaths. Hate crimes targeting Latinos more than tripled between 2015 and 2025. In a 2025 survey, 51% of Latinos reported increased feelings of stress, anxiety, sleep disruption, and declining health directly linked to anti-Latino rhetoric and policies. These are the quantifiable costs of false narratives that treat indispensable locals as threatening outsiders.
“Latinos are a resource to the United States—not a threat, and certainly not a burden,” says co-author Brenda Amezquita-Castro. “Our contributions help sustain many essential sectors that keep the country running and support the well-being of everyone in the United States. Ensuring that Latinos have the conditions they need to thrive does not negate the needs of the general population; it is an investment in the country’s shared prosperity, resilience, and future.”
The article concludes with a call to action directed at legislators, health systems, media organizations, and civic leaders to publicly and actively correct false narratives about Latinos; advocate for data-driven protections against discriminatory health policies; increase investments in mental health, workforce training, and community support for Latinos; and ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate health services for Latino patients. The authors cite a recent national survey conducted by CLAFH that reveals a majority of people in the United States support prioritizing the elimination of health inequities.
About CLAFH: For more than 20 years, the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) has developed research, training, and interventions to promote the health and well-being of Latino adolescents, families, and communities in the United States. Visit clafh.org to learn more.
