EXHIBITS

Leaving Family Behind

Luis Espinoza with Brisa (13 Months Old)
Luis Espinoza with Brisa (13 months old)
Photograph taken by Karl Germeck
Historically, working-age Latino men have outnumbered Latina women of similar ages. Likewise, immigration rates have been greater for Latino men in Cache Valley. The 1970 Census counted 192 males (57%) and 147 females (43%) for the “Spanish origin” population. Oftentimes, husbands and fathers would relocate to Cache Valley first and later be joined by their wives and families. “I went to California when I first came to the States,” Ena Murillo recalled, “because that’s where my husband was. . . . [He] moved up one year before I did.” This trend has shifted in Cache Valley during recent years. The 2010 Census revealed only a slight discrepancy with 52% male and 48% female. This evolving percentage in Cache Valley is similar to immigration experiences in other places, which show that women and men immigrate at approximately the same rate. The Hispanic Latinx population in Cache Valley also includes a large number of young, second-generation immigrants, those born in the U.S. who have at least one foreign parent. Furthermore, the rates of new Latinx-born male and female babies are nearly equal and the current percentage of Latinx youth in Cache Valley represents a large proportion of its total group population.