...However there is one difference, said Gregory Rodriguez, author of "Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America." As of 2004, 67 percent of those we identify as Latinos were of Mexican origin. But unlike the Irish who came here to flee famine or Jews fleeing prosecution, the Mexican experience in America is not a linear one....

"Previous immigrants have had a beginning, middle and an end," Rodriguez said. "The continuous nature of Mexican migration has caused major confusion both of what people think of them and among Mexicans themselves. Let's take Swedish migration: at some point the native-born outnumbered foreign-born Swedes. But because of the continuous nature, it's not as linear as that. In the 1920s, the majority were foreign-born. In the 1930, U.S.-born dominated and in 1970 the vast majority were U.S.-born and most of them the grandchildren of immigrants. Today, that's obviously not the case..." LINK