Latino is an ethnicity; people of that origin identify themselves according to racial classifications like white, black, Native American, etc. Most do identify themselves as white.

The very fact that in United States there is some kind of racial classification is strange to me (and quite suspect too).

You can't run affirmative action without knowing who to discriminate for or against. Likewise you can't tell which racial groups are being disproportionally attacked by government programs without knowing each person's race.