By Edward Wu, USCM Intern
May 5, 2008

Thousands of immigrants marched May 1 in several cities to demand civil rights at a time when crackdowns against illegal immigration are rising in many states, counties and local communities.

On the same day, May 1, the U.S. Census Bureau, perhaps as a footnote to the marches in such cities as Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Houston and Milwaukee, issued new reports that Hispanics now total 46 million in the US, and are 15 percent of the population and the largest ethnic group in the country’s population. Blacks total close to 41 million and Asians more than 15 million.

Hispanics are also the fastest growing minority group, increasing by more than three percent a year. That rise is attributed to rising birth rates rather than immigration, according to the Census Bureau.

The protesters called on the presidential candidates, each of whom has supported Congressional efforts to allow a way for certain illegal immigrants to gain legal status, to make immigration issues a priority.

Across the nation the marches were largely peaceful. Last year in Los Angeles, riot police officers beat and shoved demonstrators and journalists. However, the rally turned out to be more peaceful this year.

Messages on T'shirts and signs and protest leaders with bullhorns demanded an end to immigration raids that have led to an increasing number of deportations. The United States deported 280,000 people last year, a 44 percent increase over the previous year. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, who has called on the Department of Homeland Security to halt most workplace raids, joined business and labor leaders April 30 to announce the results of a study that found the raids harmful to the economy. The study said 50 percent or more of workers in some local industries were in the country illegally, and it projected great harm to the region if businesses closed or moved because of the immigration sweeps.

“If current trends continue, our projections indicate that 29 percent of the nation’s population will be Hispanic by 2050,” said D’Vera Cohn, analyst with the Pew Hispanic Center. “Hispanics will have an important impact on the country’s future because they will account for most U.S. population growth in coming years.”

However, recent trends suggest that supporters of increasing the Hispanic vote have a steep hill to climb. According to U.S. census data from 2004, approximately 16 million, or two-thirds of the country’s 27 million Hispanic voting-age residents, are eligible to vote. But of these, only 58 percent registered to vote, compared with 75 percent of whites and 69 percent of African-Americans. Only 47 percent – 7.6 million people, or taken as a slice of the total 2004 voting population, about six percent – actually cast a vote in the general election. Still, that marked an improvement over the 2000 cycle, when they accounted for just five percent of the overall voting population. By 2006, it increased to eight percent, an all-time high, but still well below the expectations of supporters trying to increase the Hispanic vote.

Whites will fall in the minority, comprising 47 percent according to the research group’s projections, which also say the U.S. population will grow to 438 million in the next four decades. About 82 percent of that growth will be attributed to immigrants and their American-born descendants.

The Hispanic dynamic is active in American culture and has been for about two decades, according to Gisela Girard, Vice Chair of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies and president of Creative Civilization, a San Antonio-based marketing and advertising group.

“These new numbers also reflect more geographic diversification. We’re seeing more Hispanics in places like Arkansas, North Carolina and Washington state,” she said. “Latino trends have already crossed into music and cuisine, and were beginning to see a real cross over in media – print, broadcast and online.”

The census numbers also named four states and the District of Columbia as “majority minority,” meaning that more than half the population was nonwhites. Hawaii is the most diverse, with 75 percent of its population classified as minority, followed by the District (68 percent minority), New Mexico (58 percent), California (57 percent) and Texas (52 percent).

While whites still represent about 66 percent of the U.S. population, they are also older, with a median age of about 41 – compared to 27 for Hispanics, 31 for blacks, and 35 for Asians.

The bureau also released other findings of note about age in America yesterday. It found that 13 percent of the total U.S. population – almost 38 million – is older than 16. Two percent of the population, 5.5 million, is over 85. Working age adults (18 to 64) totaled 190 million, or 63 percent of the population.

At the other end of the scale, there are close to 21 million children under five and 36 million from 5-13 years.