Latino migration into the Washington, DC area consists of several waves. For example, civil wars in Central American during the 1980s and 1990s pushed many Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans into the area. The Andean drought of the 1970-1980s prompted Peruvians and Bolivians to relocate, and revolutions in the Caribbean in the last 1950s and 1960s transported Cubans and Dominicans.
Latino population remains an important issue.
Prince William County, VA, and Manassas City, VA, as noted in Table 2. Growth among youth in public schools has also occurred. The area s Latinos also tend to be less educated and make less money than the rest of the population in the area. The lower education levels are partially due to immigrants from Central American who arrived during the 1980s and 1990s. The survey showed that Latinos are two times more likely than the population at large to have a family member working two jobs to make ends meet, and that Latino students have the highest dropout rates of any ethnic group in many Washington area schools.