U.S. Hispanics Say, Call Us -Americans

SO MANY PEOPLE, SO LITTLE DATA. ALTHOUGH MORE than 22 million Hispanics live in the U.S., experts say there's precious little information on their political attitudes. Until now. The Latino National Political Survey, funded by the Ford, Rockefeller, Spencer and Tinker foundations, is the first comprehensive study of the values of Americans of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent and is being praised by major Hispanic groups.

The survey, based on interviews with more than 2,800 Hispanics nationwide, found that most so-called Hispanics and Latinos don't think of themselves in those terms. More than two-thirds prefer national-origin labels such as Mexican American. Debunking stereotypes, the survey found a high degree of assimilation into the American mainstream among Latinos. A large majority of those surveyed expressed strong love for the U.S., and more than 90% said Hispanics should learn English. Also, more than 65% feel that there are too many immigrants. Rodolfo O. de la Garza of the University of Texas at Austin, the survey's head researcher, says European immigrants developed the same anti-newcomer sentiment. Ironically, it's an attitude as American as apple pie.