Latinos already outnumber non-Hispanic whites in Texas, according to the 2022 census | International

The great fear of Trumpism, that the United States will stop being a white and Anglophone country, is on its way to becoming a reality. Latinos already outnumber non-Hispanic whites in Texas, according to the latest census data. Latinos, or Hispanics -the denomination is indistinct-, represent around 40.2% of the population of the State, slightly ahead of non-Hispanic whites, who account for 39.8% of the census. He surprise It is not limited only to Texas, since in California and New Mexico they have long been in the majority.

The results are not surprising, since the Latino population in Texas and in the country as a whole has increased steadily in recent decades. In 2020, the census revealed that just over a quarter of all children in the US are Latino, an increase of more than a million in just a decade.

According to data from the Pew Research Institute, the US Hispanic population reached 62.1 million in 2020, representing 19% of all Americans and the second largest demographic group in the country. According to the same census, 39% of Californians were also Hispanic, slightly higher than whites (35%), as were 49.3% of New Mexicans. Therefore, there are three States where the Hispanic or Latino population is the majority. New Mexico has had the highest percentage of Hispanics since the end of the first decade of the century.

Texas' demographic shift probably occurred around 2022, according to the federal census bureau. For years, unofficial estimates had shown that Latinos were on track to outnumber non-Hispanic whites, reflecting decades of transformation. Of the estimated 12 million Latinos living in Texas, many are concentrated in San Antonio, the city with the highest percentage (around 64%).

After 40.2% Latino or Hispanic, Texans are, in this order, “non-Latino white” (39.8% of the census), black (13.4%), Asian (5.7%), mixed race (two or more races, 2.3%), Native American and Alaskan Indian (1.1%), and finally Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (0.2%), according to the racial classification that jumps daily from the census to any form or survey: in the US it is mandatory to define yourself, identify yourself with one of the boxes. The data corresponds to a census dated July 1, 2022. "The figures add up to more than 100% because Latinos can be of any race," warns the official statistics, which adds complexity to an identity that the Administration intends to define as unique.

Texas was majority white from 1885 until 2004, when the non-Hispanic white population first fell below 50%. It is the second most populous state behind California, where people of color have represented 95% of its population growth in the last decade, according to the 2020 census. In Texas, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada and New Mexico, non-Hispanic whites represent less than 50% of the population. Parallel to this demographic strength, the use of Spanish is also advancing unstoppably. It was the most widely spoken non-English language in American homes (62%) in 2019, 12 times more than the next four most common (Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic). More than half (55%) of Spanish speakers were born in the US.

Abbott sued for installing a barrier on the Rio Grande

The State of Texas, in the hands of Republican Governor Gregg Abbott, has been sending thousands of migrants crossing from Mexico to New York or Washington for more than a year, as a way of putting pressure on the federal government about the situation on the border. In response, this same Monday, the Department of Justice has sued the State for a floating barrier on the Rio Grande (or Rio Grande), which is part of Abbott's border security program, the so-called Operation Lone Star. The installation of the barrier, about 300 meters, is intended to discourage migrants from swimming across from Mexico. Washington claims the buoy chain violates federal law, while Abbott has ignored a Justice Department petition to remove it. Abbott blames the Joe Biden Administration for the large number of immigrants crossing the border irregularly.

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