Whites in minority in 10% of counties

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER | The Associated Press • Published August 09, 2007

Comments (0)

Supporters say local laws are necessary because Congress has failed to crack down on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. But many Hispanics legally in the U.S. say they feel targeted, too.

"I think across the board all of us feel like we're not welcome," said Jacinto, who was born in the U.S. and volunteers for an advocacy group called Mexicans Without Borders.

Prince William County has seen its Hispanic population more than double since 2000, to nearly 70,000 last year. Non-Hispanic whites account for a little more than half the population, down from about two-thirds in 2000.

Greg Letiecq recently helped form a group to fight illegal immigration in northern Virginia, called Help Save Manassas. The group is named for a city surrounded by Prince William County.

"It's not about ethnicity, it's not about race. It's about lawful behavior versus unlawful behavior," Letiecq said.

Still, he complained that many newcomers eschew American culture in favor of their Latino heritage.

"It's the folks who come in and try to maintain the culture of the country they came from," Letiecq said. "They don't seem to embrace the American culture, the English language, the social norms of American culture."

In Washington

Census Bureau figures for 2005 show 77 percent of Washington residents were non-Hispanic whites, 6.4 percent were Asian, 3.5 percent black and 1.7 percent American Indian. Hispanics made up nearly 9 percent of the state population in 2005. Nationally, Hispanics are more than 14 percent of the population. The rest of the state population consisted of people who report they are of multiple races.

The new report said that in percentage terms among larger counties, the Hispanic population grew 35 percent in Clark County between 2000 and 2006, 35 percent in Snohomish County and 28 percent in Pierce County. Hispanics increased 27 percent in King County, while the white population in the state's most populous county actually dropped by 1 percent.

Adams County had a 13 percent rise in the number of Hispanics, while other groups collectively fell 3 percent. Yakima County saw its Hispanic population rise 14 percent while its non-Hispanic population dropped 2 percent. Tiny Garfield County saw its total population drop 8 percent even as Hispanics were growing by 20 percent.

The Associated Press

County figures

In Thurston County in 2005, 86.9 percent of the residents were white, according to the U.S. Census. The Census also shows blacks made up 2.7 percent of Thurston County's population, people of Asian descent made up 4.9 percent and people of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.2 percent.

The increase in the non-Hispanic population was 11 percent, and the increase in the Hispanic population was 27 percent.

<< Previous page