The 2026 State of the Latino Family in the U.S.

February 23, 2026

Topic(s): Education, Health, Immigration, Policy, Washington, D.C.

The 2026 State of the Latino Family in the U.S.

Hispanic Federation has compiled key data points in anticipation of the 2026 State of the Union. The data shows how Latino families have seen their lived experiences change over the past year. This document provides a snapshot of some issues impacting Latino families to help frame the bigger conversation about prosperity, safety, and opportunity.

We worked to bring in as much data from 2025 as possible but changes in federal reporting processes mean that a large number of critical data points are no longer being reported, such as the Food Security Report, Gender Identity from the Crime Victim Survey, and the diminishment of data on both maternal and infant mortality.

Economics

Every year, Hispanic Federation has polled Latino voters about their concerns and since 2024, Latino voters have consistently said that the economy is their major concern. Whether we are talking about the cost of living, inflation, or groceries, people are concerned about how their paychecks are not keeping up with bills.

Hispanic Federation supported a poll in 2024 that showed that the dominant issue shaping voter opinions were pocketbook issues with inflation (53%), jobs and the economy (37%), housing costs (27%) and health care costs (25%) leading the pack (voters could pick up to three issues).
- Hispanic Federation released a poll in 2025 focused on New York City. The poll asked what one or two policies voters think the next mayor should prioritize, and the top priority was cost of living (43%) while the third priority was housing (35%).
Aggressive federal enforcement has a real economic cost. The 11-week surge in federal enforcement in Minneapolis cost the city and its residents $203 million in economic damage.
- Because of the economic impact of federal enforcement in Minneapolis, one in five people in Minneapolis also need food assistance.
The baseline Consumer Price Index increased by 2.7% last year, but the cost of housing rose 3.2%, “household furnishings and operations” rose 4%, electricity prices have risen 7%, and piped gas by 10.8%.
- Recent monthly electricity cost increases are high among Latino communities such as a 23.23% increase in El Paso Electric in Texas, a 13.4% increase in Con Edison in New York, and a 9.1% increase in Southern California Edison. These increases are some of the recent monthly increases that were the highest.
- Annual energy cost increased across the country, most notably we saw a 9.1% increase in Florida, 15.2% increase in Illinois, and 11.4% increase in New York.
- Energy burdens on the poorest households will only increase because of changes to calculation of Low Income Home Energy Assistance benefits, as we see some households will have the benefit listed as “income,” which could then mean the household would lose access to certain benefits, such as food assistance, that they may have previously qualified for. This would force families to choose between energy for their home or food on the table.
Reduced small business loan eligibility: It is estimated that we will see between $1.85bn and $5.55bn in reduced small business capital allotments available to Lawful Permanent Resident entrepreneurs
beginning March 1.
- A new rule blocks all noncitizens, even LPRs, from being recipients of Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) funding and in 2025, the SBA gave out $37bn in 7(a) loans.
- Journalistic and industry sources suggest that between five and 15 percent of SBA 7(a) loan activity entailed some level of LPR ownership.
- In Oct. 2022, foreign-born owners comprised 18 percent of small business owners and 22.82 percent of small businesses without employees.
Latinos comprised 2 percent of tracked small business owners according to 2023 SBA data.
Tariffs
- Latino workers have been disproportionately exposed to industries impacted by tariffs.
- On average, American families have paid nearly $1,200 in tariff costs between February–November 2025.
- One mid-year analysis found that because industries are hardest hit by tariffs employ more Latinos than do others, those harms are greater for Latinos.

Health Care

Access to affordable healthcare is at great risk for the Latino community, particularly as expiration of subsidies has resulted in families’ health insurance premiums skyrocketing – in some cases doubling or tripling – jeopardizing millions of Americans’ health insurance coverage. Many Latinos gained health insurance coverage for the first time because of the ACA, which provided historic gains for the community, however those gains are being lost with the expiration of those subsidies. Between skyrocketing costs of healthcare and the decline in vaccine levels, communities across the nation are being left exposed to treatable or preventable illnesses, such as measles which has tripled or quadrupled this year.

Hospital and Related Services prices rose 7 percent last year; medical care rose 3.2 percent.
ACA Subsidies
- One million fewer people (out of 24 million) have already enrolled under ACA marketplace plans after the cancellation of subsidies.
  - Of those, 200k or more are likely Latino. Those still enrolled are likely in higher deductible or otherwise lower quality plans.
- Those initial subsidies were responsible for increasing Latino ACA enrollment by 75 percent,
  raising enrollment among eligible individuals from 13.3% to 23.4%. [1]
- An average Latino family across HF service areas is slated to see out-of-pocket annual premium payments increase by $3,018 after changes to ACA terms plus the subsidy expiration.
Looming Medicaid cuts
- Recent CBO estimates suggest 7.5 million people will lose eligibility
  under Medicaid by 2034 under the terms of H.R. 1.
- The bulk of those losses will come under enhanced work requirements, but immigrants are also singled out for some punitive terms as well. [2]
  Those include some 100,000 people losing coverage for immigrant status, and alteration of the emergency Federal Medical Assistance Percentage formula for immigrant patients.
- All told, some 24 million of the nation’s 65 million Latinos – 30% – were enrolled in Medicaid in 2020. Across the program itself, Latinos accounted for 28% of all Medicaid and CHIP insured individuals in 2020 but were 37% of beneficiaries falling under the category of “limited benefits.” [3]
Undermining of public health protections
- Across much of the U.S., including Latino heavy states like Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, and Florida, kindergarten vaccination rates have fallen below
  90 percent, compared to a 93% to 95% herd immunity threshold.
- As of February 19, the U.S. has 982 measles cases, compared to 2,280 cases in 2025; the vast majority of these in those aged under 20. The unvaccinated comprise 94 and 93 percent of those, respectively. (In 2024, the total case count was 285.)

Immigration

Looming large on the horizon for Latino families has been the pervasive fear and anxiety around aggressive federal enforcement. These combative tactics have persisted in 2026, which means our communities will continue to face the peril of detentions without a clear roadmap for having their cases resolved and businesses across the U.S. will continue to struggle filling essential roles.

In February, it was reported that over 68,000 people were held in detention, a 75% increase – from the start of last year – separated from their lives, work and loved ones.
- The Department of Homeland Security estimates the daily cost for a bed for
  one adult is about $165. Taxpayers are paying over $11 million per day just to detain immigrants who could be living in their homes as their cases are addressed in the courts.
- Last year, 32 people died while being held in ICE custody, marking the deadliest year since 2004 and so far, this year six people have already died, a worrying signal that 2026 will continue needlessly putting lives at risk.
- In addition, the number of people held in ICE detention with no criminal record has risen by 25-fold since inauguration day – 950 to 24,500 on February 7.
- “In at least 4,421 cases, more than 400 federal judges have ruled that [these] detentions were illegal.”
Immigrants consistently pay more in taxes than the benefits they receive; between 1994 and 2023 immigrants reduced the deficit by $14.1 trillion. Despite this, H.R. 1 eliminated SNAP eligibility for roughly 90,000 immigrants under special entry programs, including Cuban or Haitian Entrants and Free Association migrants. As a result, taxpaying immigrants continue to be blocked from accessing essential benefits.
The Department of Labor under Trump reported that mass deportation will reduce both fruit and vegetable production and farm revenue, increasing the costs for consumers. We are just seeing the beginnings of those effects.
- In 2025, food prices rose faster than overall (3.1%) compared with Consumer Price Index inflation (2.7%). Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased by 3.9 percent.

Education

Following the Students for Fair Admissions decision and subsequent policy shifts, Latino enrollment at elite institutions has fallen sharply, while the cancellation of $350 million in grants for Hispanic-Serving Institutions has closed off a critical alternative pathway. Younger students are suffering too, as 6.3 million citizen children in mixed-status families face fear and instability that is driving measurable declines in school attendance. At the research level, Latino scientists have been roughly twice as likely as their peers to lose federal funding amid a broader wave of cuts that has frozen or eliminated nearly 8,000 health and STEM grants. Research focused on Latino health outcomes has been disproportionately targeted as well. The opportunities available to Latino students and scholars are being systematically narrowed.

Highly selective university admissions:
- In the aftermath of the Students For Fair Admissions (SFFA) decision, Latino enrollment at top, selective colleges fell by nearly 2 percent, while enrollment at ‘safety schools’ increased, reflecting decreased admissions.
- From 2024 to 2025, Latino enrollment fell at these highly selective institutions
  by:
  - Harvard, 11.8% to 8.4%
  - Yale, 19% to 13%
  - CalTech, 10% to 8.4%
  - Northwestern, 18% to 14%
- Combine those data with the cancellation of a $350m grant for Hispanic-Serving Institutions
  and general attacks on HSIs, and Latino student academic opportunities are being narrowed.
School enrollment and attendance under federal crackdowns:
- Across the country, 3 million children are citizens but live in mixed-status families and have felt the pressure of trying to excel in school while also being fearful that a loved one may be taken away unexpectedly.
- In the first month of the new administration, school absences in California’s Central Valley rose over 20 percent amid increased federal threats.
- Virtual summer school rose in LA by 7 percent during last year’s crackdown. Up to
  75 percent of St. Paul students and in Miami-Dade, new student enrollment has been down nearly 14,000.
Research Censorship
- Nearly 8,000 research grants in health and STEM have been frozen or cut, with roughly 25 percent fewer projects funded than in past years. Latino principal investigators in STEM were
  “roughly twice” as likely as their peers to have grants cut.
- Projects related to Latino health were also disproportionately likely to be cut.