Puerto Rican population up 138% from 2000 census

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PASCAGOULA -- Gustavo and Susan Santo left Puerto Rico five years ago to live their American dream in Mississippi.

They?re part of the growing number of Puerto Ricans who have settled in the three Coast counties in the last 10 years, according to 2010 census demographic profiles being released today.

The 2000 census showed 1,304 Puerto Ricans in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties. In a decade, their population has more than doubled, with the 2010 census recording 3,098 Puerto Ricans living on the Coast now. That?s an increase of almost 138 percent.

JOHN FITZHUGH/SUN HERALD Susan and The Rev. Gustavo Santos of Pascgoula and their children, Susanah, 4, and twins, Diego and Saulo, 2, are part of the growing Puerto Rican population in South Mississippi.

It?s still a rather small figure, when compared with the Coast?s total population, said Clifford Holley, a demographer with the Center for Population Studies at University of Mississippi. But the growth in Puerto Rican residents is more than what would occur naturally, he said.

Puerto Ricans moving to the Coast are typically young and either follow friends and family here or know someone established in a community, he said.

For the Santoses, both were true.

Gustavo Santos, 37, listened to his cousin?s promises of higher-paying jobs. Though his cousin lived in Ocean Springs, Santos picked Pascagoula so he?d be closer to the shipyards.

Susan Santos, 34, was pregnant at the time with Susannah, who is now 4.

They also have 2-year-old twins, Saulo and Diego.

Gustavo Santos works as a shipfitter at Halter Marine in Pascagoula, a few minutes from his family.

He is also a pastor at Iglesia El Taller del Maestro, a Hispanic church in Pascagoula that offers three services each week.

The church has outgrown its surroundings four times since it was organized.

Santos also leads a Bible study Thursday nights at Crossroads Church in Ocean Springs. Susan Santos was born in Connecticut to Puerto Rican parents, but was reared on the islands. When she married Gustavo seven years ago, she shared with him her dream of raising a family in ?the states.?

?We never imagined we would be pastoring here,? she said. ?We think it was the Lord who moved us here because of the growing population.?

The majority of their congregation is from Puerto Rico, as well. The availability of higher-wage jobs is a huge draw for them, she said.

?Wherever there?s a job that pays more than $15 an hour, that?s appealing to anyone from Puerto Rico,? she said.

Santos wanted better education for her children, and safer neighborhoods. She found both in Jackson County, she said.

And because Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, moving here is like crossing a state line. There are no visas or border patrol issues to deal with. ?You just find a place to live and get a job,? she said.

For the Santos family, Mississippi is home.

?We love Puerto Rico. It?s beautiful and we love our family, but the church is growing so fast and there are so many beautiful people in our lives that we?re not thinking of going back,? she said. ?This is considered home right now.?

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