packinghouse paid $3.36 a day, and in 1928 ten railroad companies employed between 800 and 1000 Mexicans in the winter, and less than 250 in the summer. In the 1930s many Mexicans in Omaha traveled back and forth from western Nebraska to work in the agriculture industry. Religion A Roman Catholic church called Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe was founded in Omaha in 1919., and has been the "main pivot of the Hispanic community in Omaha, the state and neighboring counties in Iowa across the Missouri River." Its first home was in a rented room above a baker's shop. During the 1960s both Catholic and Protestant congregations encouraged Mexican Americans in Omaha "to move forward with a more proactive role in claiming their identity and place in the community." Crime In the 1930s crime among Mexican Americans ranked "higher than any other immigrant class born in the city." Researchers attributed this to poverty, language barriers, police politics and the lack of political representation. Mexican Americans in Omaha were also the target of racial tension, with one period report finding, "at social gatherings of the schools and churches, Mexican children were spat upon and called "greasers" by other children." Present Population In the early 1970s a population survey conducted by the Lutheran Ministries of Omaha estimated that there were 6,490 Latinos in Omaha, with two-thirds of the population coming from Mexico. A 1978 study found that Mexican Americans in Omaha felt particular satisfaction with their lifestyle and the services that they received from the U.S. government. The same study found civic engagement high among the population. While study participants felt like they generally were not welcomed throughout their community, they were accepted. Between 1980 and 1990, the Latino population in the Midwest increased by 35.2%. In 1990 Latinos accounted for 2.9% of the population of Omaha with the majority Mexican. Nebraska's Latino population nearly doubled from 1990 to 2005, largely due to increases in towns with meatpacking operations located within a two hundred mile radius of Omaha. While most of that population is Mexican, the numbers are not available. Religion According to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha, 74 percent of Mexicans and their American-born children in Omaha are Catholic. The streets of South Omaha, particularly the South Omaha Main Street Historic District, are packed with religious celebrations throughout the year, including the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Day of