....The perils of the journey and the hard labor at the end of it mean people with asthma or heart problems often don't come from Latin America, Johnson said. He contends people who cross the border live longer because they come here in better shape.

"What we're seeing in U.S. immigrants is the healthiest of the healthiest," said Helen Lee, an Oakland sociologist with the research organization MDRC.

She worries, however, that the rise of obesity and diabetes in Latino children could mean the longer life expectancies won't last.

"One question is if the paradox is going to last," she said. "We don't yet know how that plays out...."

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