I dunno, Helen. I think I stand by my guesses.
I'm certainly aware that "Latino" or "Hispanic" covers a lot of different nationalities, cultures, etc. In my business, I have had to deal with many Hispanic people from very diverse backgrounds whose only common denominator is the Spanish language, and that only to a certain degree. (Short digression: one of the ways of distinguishing among Spanish speakers ((not all of whom even call the language Español -- a Colombian form I used to have to fill out required that it be done "en Castillano")) is the way they pronounce the letter "ll", ranging from the Castilian eh-yay to the Argentinian "edge-ay" and points in between.) And while Baltimore used never to be much in the way of Hispanic citizens, in the last 5 years or so, there has been a huge influx, so much so that there has been a serious proposal to officially call the area where most of them live "Spanish Town". Saint Patrick's RC Church, originally founded 150 years ago by Irish Catholics, then later a haven for German Catholics, is now the big Latino Church, with more masses in Spanish than English. This is a great blessing, particularly from the culinary standpoint. We now have lots of alternatives to Mexican food, such as Salvadorean, Peruvian, etc. Our church is host to a nascent church community called the "Iglesia de los Tres Santos Reyes" which is a group of Hispanic immigrants too small yet to be able to afford their own building and priest (we have a Spanish-speaking deacon who is vicar to them). They are of several different nationalities and backgrounds, and all but the older people are learning English as fast as they can.
You mention the situation in New Mexico. I don't think that is typical of the U.S. as a whole. New Mexico is not only pretty much rural or small-town, but right across the border from Mexico, so it's easy to set up an enclave which can maintain a separation from the general population and encapsulate itself in its language and folkways.
New York City is, I think, also atypical for the opposite reason. NY is so huge, and has always had such a large immigrant population, that any group, like the Puerto Ricans, can set up its own community and act like they are still in the old country, even if they know better. (The scene and musical number with the Puerto Rican boys and girls in West Side Story comes to mind here.)
So far as I know, Hispanic immigrants aren't going to farming or really small rural communities -- mostly to cities, including some small cities or towns. In that context, they are not so isolated from the rest of American life that they can set up an old-country community, as in New Mexico, nor so isolated by the sheer size of their city, as in NYC. They are, perforce, obliged to be part of the American community and their children will be going to the American schools and associating with the Anglo children and speaking English. If the Anglo community is at least tolerant, better yet welcoming, the parents will be able to associate with them and start getting integrated into the American lifestyle and the English language to some extent, but in any case, the next generation, raised in that milieu, will almost certainly be assimilated and speak English, even if they retain Spanish as an alternate.
