Hispanics account for half of U.S. population growth between 2004 and 2005

By Tal Abbady
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted May 10 2006

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ccensusmay10%2C0%2C4783496.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

Hispanics continue to be the country's fastest-growing minority, accounting for almost half of the national population growth between 2004 and 2005, census figures released today show.

The boom is part of profound demographic changes in the United States, where one-third of residents now identify themselves as minorities. The minority population reached 98 million in 2005, or 33 percent of the country's 296.4 million inhabitants.

Hispanics numbered 42.7 million, the census data show. From 2004 and 2005, their numbers grew by 3.3 percent, a spike fueled by 800,000 births and 500,000 new Hispanic immigrants. Blacks represent the second largest minority group, at 39.7 million, followed by Asians, with 14.4 million, according to the census report.

In South Florida, grass-roots leaders hope to parlay their growing numbers into votes in the November election, and they emphasize how a growing but diverse political and economic force is little understood.

"We keep thinking of Hispanics as a monolith, but the variety and differences among Hispanic cultures is quite tremendous," said Josie Bacallao, president of the Hollywood-based Hispanic Unity of Florida.

The agency, which provides social services to Hispanics throughout Broward County, received 400 calls or visits in February, the latest month for which information is available. Many who seek help at Bacallao's facility are Colombian or Venezuelan immigrants uprooted by civil unrest in their countries

They have sharply different needs than Hispanics in the largely Cuban-American population of Miami-Dade County and the growing, Mexican day laborer community of Palm Beach County, Bacallao said.

"There are over 20 nationalities represented among Hispanics," she said. "To clump them all together would be like clumping every English speaker together."

Growth in South Florida in recent years has reflected the Hispanic boom nationally.

In 2004, there were 369,467 Hispanics in Broward County, up from 272,652 in 2000. In Palm Beach County, the number of Hispanics increased from 140,675 to 192,272 over the same period.

Business owners in Palm Beach County say they've observed the emergence of a Hispanic business community where one did not exist before. Increasingly, restaurants, shops and professional offices are catering to the growing numbers of white-collar Hispanics moving into affluent neighborhoods in western areas, said Silvia Garcia, president of the Palms West Chamber of Commerce.

"The population's growth up here is amazing. I used to have to travel to Miami if I wanted Hispanic culture. It's here now," said Garcia, a Wellington resident who lives in the community of Olympia. She is a fan of the 2-year-old Cuban restaurant Don Ramon in Wellington.

"You see not only restaurants, but people at all professional levels including doctors and attorneys," Garcia said. "Hispanics have established a presence here."

On the political front, Hispanics have made their numbers felt in the immigration reform battle as protesters clogged streets and walked off jobs. Local advocates say the population growth won't necessarily translate into votes that could tip the scales in favor of Hispanics on immigration and other issues. The mix of illegal immigrants unable to vote and legal immigrants who are unfamiliar with the civic process poses a challenge, said Alvaro Fernandez, who runs the Florida office of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. "It's a constant battle," Fernandez said.

The group hopes to achieve a high voter turnout for the November mid-term and gubernatorial elections. More than 60 percent of all registered Latino voters in Florida turned out for the 2004 presidential election, he said.

Diversity can make it difficult to achieve common political goals, Fernandez said. As the Hispanic population grows, he and others say, so does the need to understand divisions and nuances. "Dominicans don't see things the way Puerto Ricans do. When you talk about Latinos, you have a bunch of different countries involved and each group has its own thing going."

Tal Abbady can be reached at tabbady@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4523.

Then Watch this Video!!!

This video, "Immigration by the Numbers" was produced in 1996!! Thus, when Roy Beck, the producer, says that something must be done "now" to save America within 15 years, realize that 10 years has already passed since the video was made -- it may already be too late. Note also that when Roy talks about the next century, he is talking about this 21st century already here. Click here to view the video.

It is estimated that over 10,000 cross the border daily from a large number of countries.
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