The changing demography of latino immigrants in the united states

This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of education administration. In addition to publication in the Connexions Content Commons, this module is published in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation , Volume 5, Number 1 (January – March 2010). Formatted and edited in Connexions by Julia Stanka, Texas A&M University.

The changing demography of latino immigrants in the united states: from 1980 to the present

Rogelio Saenz&Carlos Siordia

The population of the United States has experienced tremendous changes in its racial and ethnic composition over the last several decades (Saenz 2004). It has been the Latino population in particular, that has disproportionately helped change the racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population. Indeed, the Latino population in the United States expanded by 2.5 times between 1980 and 2000 compared to a growth of 24% in the nation’s population. In fact, even though Latinos accounted for only about 6% of the population of the United States in 1980, they would account for approximately 40% of all persons added to the U.S. population between 1980 and 2000. In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau designated Latinos as the nation’s largest minority group.

The magnified growth rates of the Latino population are due to several demographic factors. First, the Latino population has a young population structure with approximately one third of Latinos being less than 18 years of age. Second, the Latino population has relatively high fertility levels. Third, the Latino population has relatively low mortality levels, even after the young age structure of the population is taken into account. Finally, immigration from Latin America continues to be larger than that of other regions of the world. The largest segment of the Latino population— Mexicans, who account for three-fifths of this group— rank the highest on each of these four demographic factors.

Population projections indicated that the Latino population will continue to drive U.S. demographic changes in the coming decades. Indeed, the Latino population represents the engine of the national population growth in the 21 ^st century. Even if immigration from Mexico to the United States were stopped immediately, the current demographic profile of the Latino population would propel this growth over the coming decades. Indeed, while whites had roughly a unitary ratio of one birth to every one death in its population, the Latino population had eight births to every one death in its population.

Given the strength of the Latino population in the changing demography of the United States, there are major ongoing debates related to the future of the country and the impact of the Latino population in these changes. Are Latino populations in the United States a threat or a new civilization? There are many perspectives about Latino immigrants among people in this country. These views range from the immigrant-hostile to the immigrant-embracing dispositions. Latinos are a major ethnic group in the United States and this knowledge provokes some social-cultural anxieties. Many question how the growing number of Latino immigrants will impact the U.S. economy. How will their presence influence the educational system? Are these immigrant populations having an influence on criminal rates and incarcerations? Will Spanish have to become the second national language? Questions like these and many more are at the forefront of the immigration discourse.