Final answer:
The statement is true; Latinos did become the largest minority group in America, surpassing African Americans by the year 2000, with their numbers reaching about 16 percent of the US population by 2010 due to significant immigration.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Latinos outnumbered African Americans in America between 1970 and 2000 is true. By the 2000 US census, Latinos had become the largest minority group in the United States. A huge surge in the Latino population occurred over these decades, with numbers increasing dramatically due to both legal and illegal immigration. By 2010, there were 48 million Hispanics in the United States, which made up about 16 percent of the population, surpassing the percentage of African Americans.
This growth in the Latino population can be attributed to various factors, including a significant amount of migration from Latin American countries, particularly Mexico, Cuba, and Central American nations such as El Salvador. The Hispanic population tripled during the 1960s, and several million more immigrants, both legal and illegal, arrived in the US during the 1980s. Factors such as job opportunities, family networks, and immigration policies have all played a role in these changes.