The Demographics Go To The Hispanics

Census figure just released for 2007 continue to record the growing diversity of the U.S. Slightly more than a third of the country is already minority -- black, Asian, white Hispanic and Native American. And already five jurisdictions are "minority-majority" -- Hawaii, Washington, D.C., New Mexico, California and Texas. Demographers, on the basis of current figures, project the whole nation will be "minority-majority" by 2050. The great growth has been among the elderly -- mostly white -- and among children -- mostly minority. (See LA Times article.) One in four children under five is Hispanic, born mostly in the U.S. This is one of the source of concern and tension in the immigration debate. (See Arizona Republic article.) As these children become of school age, there is great demand for bilingual education or other services due to cultural and linguistic issues. The demographics clearly indicate the immigration debate will not end soon, only get more complicated.