Latino Surge in Orange County (NY)

Yes, the Latinization of America continues.

This time the focus is on Orange County in New York.

Yes, the Orange County of American Chopper and West Point fame.

Perennially rated as one of America's most attractive places to live, Orange County is bordered to the North by the Catskills, the Hudson River to the East, New York's Rockland County to the South East, New Jersey's rural Sussex County to the South, and rural Northeastern Pennsylvania to the West.

The latest population estimates by the Census Bureau show that the Orange County (NY) Latino population surged to around 15.4% (58,000) of the county's 376,000 residents--an increase from 11.6% in 2000.

"You have a lot of Hispanics that are coming here from New York City, Westchester and New Jersey, not unlike other groups," said [Jose] DeJesus, a native of Puerto Rico whose family moved to Walden from Yonkers in 1992.

"They're looking for good communities, they're looking for good places for their children."

Read Orange County attracts minorities: Hispanic surge leads the way, Times Herald-Record - 8.17.07.

Related: Raise voices for Newburgh campus of SUNY Orange - Times Herald-Record/Letter to the Editor by Sonia Ayala/Jose Dejesus - 6.18.06