Panamanian Americans

Panama is a small country, carved from Colombia, and Panamanian Americans are the second-smallest Central American ethnic group, numbering 165,456 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Part of the Spanish colonial empire, Panama became independent in 1821 and was part of Colombia until 1903. It seceded from Colombia under American pressure, so that the new nation would allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build and operate the Panama Canal. Control of the canal was eventually ceded to Panama in 1999, in accordance with a 1977 treaty. Panama is primarily mestizo (about 70 percent), with a large West Indian black population (14 percent), followed by a 10 percent white population and 6 percent indigenous tribes (the Bribri, Embera, Guna, Naso, and Ngobe Bugle peoples). Over half of the population lives in the Panama City metropolitan area.

Although many Panamanians settled in the United States in the 19th century, they were all but unrecorded. Immigration officials and the census did not differentiate among the many nations of Central and South America at the time. As of the 1940 Census, 7,000 Americans were of Central American extraction; several hundred were likely Panamanian or descended from Colombians from the lands that became Panama. Immigration slowed down in the early 20th century but accelerated quickly after World War II. In 1960, the Census Bureau began differentiating among South and Central American countries. At the time, Panamanians were one of the largest Central American groups in the country. About twice as many women immigrated to the United States as men, a curious statistic that tends to be found only in Central and South American groups.

Many of the women took jobs as maids, as housekeepers, in other domestic professions, or in the service or restaurant industry, and many sent remittances home to take care of their families. Some were low-level white-collar workers, like typists, data entrants, and clerks. The number of Panamanian immigrants who work in the domestic field is still quite high, at about a fifth of the total. Panamanian immigration increased after U.S. immigration regulations were adjusted in order to encourage relatives of American residents to immigrate, but other Central American groups began to overtake Panamanian Americans, particularly as turmoil in countries like Nicaragua drove refugees into the country.

Brooklyn and the Miami area are home to the largest Panamanian American communities. Panamanian Americans are also found in many cities with military bases: San Antonio; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Jacksonville, Florida; San Diego; Tampa; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Killeen, Texas; Columbus, Georgia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Clarksville, Tennessee; and El Paso, Texas. Many immigrants were also drawn to the existing Spanish-speaking communities in Florida and California. Large numbers, though, settled along the Gulf Coast and in New England. The largest communities are in New York (29,619); Miami (13,529); Washington, D.C. (7,322); Los Angeles (6,353); Atlanta (5,599); Orlando (4,234); Tampa (3,772); Houston (3,350); Dallas (3,162); Philadelphia (2,841); San Antonio (2,663); Virginia Beach (2,658); Riverside, California (2,556); Chicago (2,300); San Diego (2,144); Seattle (2,002); Baltimore (1,877); Fayetteville (1,788); and Boston (1,749).