Nicaraguan Americans

Ebb and Flow of Immigration

That increase was halted by the quota-based immigration restrictions adopted in 1924, although immigration still stayed higher than it had been in the 19th century. For Nicaraguans, as for other Central Americans, the United States was a prosperous promised land, full of economic opportunities.

Many Central Americans supported families back home through remittances, money that they earned in the United States and sent back. For this reason, Nicaraguan immigrants in the 1960s were in the unusual statistical position of being predominantly female—about two women for every man. Many of the women worked as maids, housekeepers, cooks, and other domestic servants, sending money back to Nicaragua for their families. Most mid- to late-20th-century Nicaraguan immigrants settled in California, principally Los Angeles or San Francisco.

A larger wave of Nicaraguan immigration came in the wake of the 1979 revolution that brought the Sandinistas to power. This was the first time when undocumented immigration of Nicaraguans increased to a substantial number, and documented immigration nearly tripled compared to the previous decade. Just as wealthy conservative Cubans had fled Fidel Castro's regime for Florida, so did the wealthy right-wing supporters of the fallen regime in Nicaragua, and 20,000 Nicaraguans settled in the Miami area.

Some of them repatriated later, especially when the Sandinistas left office, but many remained and put down roots. Those who did were often well-connected politically—many fleeing the Sandinista regime had worked for the previous government and had friends and connections in the American government. Central Intelligence Agency support of the Contras, working to overthrow the Sandinistas, developed from these relationships.

The largest wave of Nicaraguan immigration came during the Sandinista rule, as the Nicaraguan economy was thrown into turmoil. A special order was issued by the attorney general to except Nicaraguans living in the United States from the restrictions of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. Further, about 80 percent of Nicaraguans seeking asylum in the United States were granted it—the highest percentage of any non-European group.

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