Atlas of Hispanic-American History

those who were fleeing the U.S.-allied
right-wing governments of El Salvador
and Guatemala. Many Catholic,
Protestant and Jewish congregations and
temples in the United States responded
by offering these refugees shelter and
social services, while also working to
change federal immigration policy.
Leaders of these congregations also
pledged to protect the safety and identi-
ties of the refugees under their care, even
risking arrest and jail to do so.
In 2007, a 21st century version of the
Sanctuary Movement was born. The pre-
vious August, Elvira Arellano, a Mexican
immigrant in the United States illegally
since the late 1990s, failed to appear at an
immigration hearing following her arrest
for working under a false Social Security
number. Because Arellano had had a son
in the United States in 2002, her son was
a U.S. citizen. Fearing deportation and
separation from her son, Arellano took
sanctuary in the tiny Adalberto United
Methodist Church in Chicago, where she
remained for a year. When she left the
church to attend an immigrants rights
rally in Los Angeles, she was arrested and
deported to Mexico. In the wake of her

arrest, an interfaith association called

Clergy and Laity United for Economic

Justice, began building a new coalition

under the banner “New Sanctuary

Movement” to continue to press for the

right of religious congregations to “pub-

licly provide hospitality and protection to

a limited number of immigrant families

whose legal cases clearly reveal the con-

tradictions and moral injustice of our

current immigration system.”

THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF

HISPANIC AMERICA

By the middle of the 21st century,

Hispanic Americans are expected to

account for one-quarter of the U.S. pop-

ulation. Because most Hispanic

Americans are young, the population is

likely to continue growing rapidly

throughout most of the century as many

people come of age and begin building

their own families.

As the Hispanic-American popula-

tion grows, much of the population

remains centered in the Southwest,

HISPANIC AMERICA TODAY 225

Hispanic Males

1. Heart disease


2. Cancer


3. Accidents


4. HIV/AIDS


5. Homicide


6. Stroke


7. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis


8. Diabetes


9. Suicide


10. Pneumonia and influenza

Non-Hispanic White Males

1. Heart disease


2. Cancer


3. Stroke


4. Asthma, emphysema, and other
   lung diseases


5. Accidents


6. Pneumonia and influenza


7. Suicide


8. Diabetes


9. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis


10. HIV/AIDS

Hispanic Females

1. Heart disease


2. Cancer


3. Stroke


4. Diabetes


5. Accidents


6. Pneumonia and influenza


7. Asthma, emphysema, and other lung
   diseases


8. Kidney diseases


9. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis


10. Blood poisoning

Non-Hispanic White Females

1. Heart disease


2. Cancer


3. Stroke


4. Asthma, emphysema, and other
   lung diseases


5. Pneumonia and influenza


6. Accidents


7. Diabetes


8. Alzheimer’s disease


9. Kidney diseases


10. Blood poisoning

LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH

AMONG U.S. HISPANICS