Whites becoming a minority in urban US

Whites are now in the minority in one third of America's most populous counties and, overall, outnumbered in nearly one in 10 of the nation's 3,141 counties, according to new analysis of census data.

The Arizona Rangers, a group of volunteer police officers set up to patrol the US/Mexico border for illegal immigrants
The shift reflects the increasing diversity of the US, the result of immigration particularly from Central and South America and the higher birth rate among blacks and Hispanics.

In 2000, according to the Census Bureau, whites were in a minority in 262 US counties, up from 183 in 1990.

Nationally, the number of minorities topped 100 million for the first time in 2006, to make up about one third of the population.

By 2050, minorities will account for half of all US residents, the Census Bureau predicts.

The results will fuel the intense debate over immigration, one of the most contentious and pressing issues in many US communities, which have witnessed backlashes against immigrants, vigilante efforts such as border controls and a flood of state level laws borne of frustration with federal government inaction on the issue.

According to the census data, some of the most notable changes include Chicago, which, in the year to July 1 2006, overtook Honolulu in its percentage of Asian population while Washington inched ahead of the Texas border town of El Paso in the number of Hispanic residents.

advertisementHouston, meanwhile, overtook Los Angeles in terms of its black population.

The figures mark the first population estimates by race and ethnicity since Hurricane Katrina tore across the Gulf Coast in 2005, scattering hundreds of thousands nationwide.

Many residents, for example, moved to Houston, which is witnessing the nation's most rapid changes to its ethnic makeup.

Harris County, which includes the city, gained 121,400 minority residents between 2005 and 2006, resulting in a minority population of 63 per cent.

Large changes were also witnessed in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, home to New Orleans, where the percentage of whites grew from 27 per cent in 2005 to 34 per cent in 2006 while the share of blacks dropped from about 68 per cent to 59 per cent.

The black population also fell in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York, but rose in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami and Washington.

The largest numerical increases in minority residents were registered in metropolitan Los Angeles, Riverside, in California, Dallas, Houston and New York.

The highest growth rates among Asian populations were in metropolitan Napa, in California, and Ocala, Naples, Cape Coral and Port St. Lucie, in Florida.

Numerically, the greatest increases were in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco and Chicago.

Many of the nation's biggest counties have long had large minority populations.

But the data shows how diversity is spreading to the suburbs and beyond, as people move to take up jobs created by whites gravitating away from metropolitan centres.

In some areas the changes are causing resentment with local authorities introducing measures such as barring landlords from renting property to illegal immigrants.

In northern Virginia, Teresita Jacinto said she feels less welcome today than when she first arrived 30 years ago and was one of few Hispanics in the area.

"Not only are we feeling less welcome, we are feeling threatened," said Ms Jacinto, a teacher in Woodbridge, an area 20 miles southwest of Washington in Prince William County, which recently passed a resolution seeking to deny public services to illegal immigrants.

Such restrictions are becoming increasingly common, says the National Conference of State Legislatures, which reports that this year state legislators have introduced more than 1,400 measures related to immigration.

Supporters say the local laws are necessary because Congress has failed to crack down on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the US.

But many Hispanics legally in the US say they feel targeted, too.

"I think across the board all of us feel like we're not welcome," said Ms Jacinto, who was born in the US.

Prince William County has seen its Hispanic population more than double since 2000, to nearly 70,000 last year.

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.

He complained that many newcomers failed to integrate, eschewing American culture in favour of their Latino heritage.

But he said: "I don't think Latinos or any other so-called minority group are seeking to make white people a minority. It's just a reality."



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