Argentine immigrants

SIGNIFICANCE: Reflecting significant Italian and Spanish influence, Argentines constitute a small immigration population of mostly easily assimilated professionals, scientists, artists, and craftsmen, mainly of European descent (British, French, German, Jewish, Italian, Polish), escaping political and economic trouble in Argentina.

Before the 1970s, the US government had classified Argentine immigrants within the larger category of “Other Hispanics.” Consequently, Argentine-focused statistics before that decade are absent. Anglo-Argentines, in particular, had fled dictator Juan Perón’s regime during the 1950s. During the 1960s, Argentine professionals (predominantly medical doctors and scientists) sought improved economic conditions, resulting in a “brain drain” to Australia, Canada, and the United States, with more women than men entering the US. In 1970, there were 44,803 Argentine immigrants nationwide, with 20 percent living in the New York metropolitan area. These numbers soared during the mid-to-late 1970s because of political persecution during Argentina’s “Dirty War.” Jorge Rafael Videla’s military junta snatched off-the-streets college students, protesters, trade unionists, and rights activists, who “disappeared” forever. Political refugees arriving in the 1970s were less educated and more diverse than the immigrants of the 1960s, although they remained more highly educated than the general Argentine population.

The Argentine debt crisis of the 1980s promoted another wave of immigrants, and by the 1990 US Census, the number of Argentine-born residents in the US had more than doubled since 1970, reaching 92,563. Of this number, 15,115 Argentine immigrants resided in Los Angeles and, by comparison, only fifteen resided in North Dakota and Montana combined. Argentine American business and scientific associations, tango dance clubs, and the Italian community contributed to New York City's appeal, attracting 17,363 Argentine immigrants. These figures may be low because they exclude more than half the population of Argentine immigrants who fall into other categories, such as Anglo-Argentines, Korean Argentines, Japanese Argentines, Arab Argentines, and especially Italian Argentines. Figures may also be skewed because the “Hispanic” or “Latino” category does not accurately apply and because Argentines tend to assimilate quickly. Between 1995 and 1999, more than 9,000 Argentines entered the US as permanent residents, and by 2000, the Argentine American population nationwide had reached approximately 110,000.

In the twenty-first century's first decade, poor employment opportunities, especially after the 2001-2002 economic collapse in Argentina, strong foreign-labor demands, and the possibility of entry under family reunification provisions, created a new wave of Argentine immigrants. In 2002, South Florida claimed more than 21,000 in Miami’s Little Buenos Aires alone, while San Francisco claimed 6,000. Between 2000 and 2004, more than 17,300 Argentines entered the US as permanent residents, prompting the US Justice Department to tighten temporary-visa regulations to discourage illegal residence. Argentines continued immigrating to the US through the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Data from the Migration Policy Institute indicate that approximately 211,000 Argentine immigrants resided in the US in 2019.

According to the Pew Research Institute, the number of Argentine Americans in the US reached 290,000 in 2021, constituting a 169-percent increase since 2000. Argentines' destinations in the US remained in large metro areas, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, and Chicago. Almost half resided in Florida and California, with the remaining settling in New York, Texas, and New Jersey. These states contained vibrant Argentine communities and offered immigrants increased access to social and economic opportunities.

Bibliography

Marshall, Adriana. "Emigration of Argentines to the United States." In When Borders Don’t Divide: Labour Migration and Refugee Movements in the Americas, edited by Patricia R. Pessar, Center for Migration Studies, 1988, pp. 129-41.

Montalvo, Julian, and Jeanne Batalova. "South American Immigrants in the United States." Migration Policy Institute, 11 Apr. 2024, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/south-american-immigrants-united-states. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.

Moslimani, Mohamad, et al. "Facts on Hispanics of Argentine Origin in the United States, 2021." Pew Research Center, 16 Aug. 2025, www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/fact-sheet/us-hispanics-facts-on-argentine-origin-latinos/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.

Viladrich, Anahí. "Tango Immigrants in New York City: The Value of Social Reciprocities." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, vol. 34, no. 5, Oct. 2005, pp. 533–59, doi:10.1177/089124160527901.

Viladrich, Anahí. "From 'Shrinks' to 'Urban Shamans:' Argentine Immigrants' Therapeutic Eclecticism in New York City." Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, vol. 31, no. 3, Sept. 2007, pp. 307–28, doi:10.1007/s11013-007-9058-y.