Complex sentence: A figure of 5,000-10,000 from 1880 to 1930 may be reliable and Syrians and Lebanese are perhaps the biggest immigrant group next to the Spanish since independence.
Split into simpler sentences: A figure of 5,000-10,000 from 1880 to 1930 may be reliable. Whatever the figure, Syrians and Lebanese are perhaps the biggest immigrant group next to the Spanish since independence.