Minority Births to Outnumber White Births in 2010...

[Obama 2012 1,714]

WASHINGTON — This year could be the "tipping point" when the number of babies born to minorities will outnumber that of babies born to whites, demographers said Wednesday.

Minorities make up nearly half the children born in the U.S., part of a historic trend in which minorities are expected to become the U.S. majority over the next 40 years.

The numbers are growing because immigration to the U.S. has boosted the number of Hispanic women in their prime childbearing years. Minorities made up 48 percent of U.S. children born in 2008, the latest census estimates available, compared to 37 percent in 1990.

"Census projections suggest America may become a minority-majority country by the middle of the century. For America's children, the future is now," said Kenneth Johnson, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire who researched many of the racial trends in a paper being released Wednesday.

Johnson explained there are now more Hispanic women of prime childbearing age who tend to have more children than women of other races. More white women are waiting until they are older to have children, but it is not yet known whether that will have a noticeable effect on the current trend of increasing minority newborns.

Broken down by race, about 52 percent of babies born in 2008 were white. That's compared to about 25 percent who were Hispanic, 15 percent black and 4 percent Asian. Another 4 percent were identified by their parents as multiracial.

The numbers highlight the nation's growing racial and age divide, seen in pockets of communities across the U.S., which could heighten tensions in current policy debates from immigration reform and education to health care and Social Security.

There are also strong implications for the 2010 population count, which begins in earnest next week, when more than 120 million U.S. households receive their census forms in the mail. The Census Bureau is running public service announcements this week to improve its tally of young children, particularly minorities, who are most often missed in the once-a-decade head count. The campaign features Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer, the English- and Spanish-speaking cartoon character who helps "mommy fill out our census form."

The population figures are used to distribute federal aid and redraw legislative boundaries with racial and ethnic balance, as required by federal law.

"The adults among themselves sometimes forget the census is about everyone, and kids should be counted," said Census Bureau director Robert Groves. "If we fail to count a newborn that is born this month, that newborn misses all the benefits of the census for 10 years."

Whites currently make up two-thirds of the total U.S. population, and recent census estimates suggest the number of minorities may not overtake the number of whites until 2050.

Right now, roughly 1 in 10 of the nation's 3,142 counties already have minority populations greater than 50 percent. But 1 in 4 communities have more minority children than white children or are nearing that point, according to the study, which Johnson co-published.

That is because Hispanic women on average have three children, while other women on average have two. The numbers are 2.99 children for Hispanics, 1.87 for whites, 2.13 for blacks and 2.04 for Asians in the U.S. And the number of white women of prime childbearing age is on the decline, dropping 19 percent from 1990.

For example:

— In Gwinnett County, Ga., an Atlanta suburb, the population has shifted from 16 percent minority in 1990 to 58 percent minority in 2008. The number of blacks and Hispanics nearly doubled, while the number of white young people stayed roughly the same.

— The population of Dakota County, Neb., increased from 15 percent minority in 1990 to 54 percent in 2008, due largely to an influx of Hispanics who came looking for work in meatpacking and other labor.

— In Lake County, Ind., a suburb of Chicago, the minority population grew from 43 percent in 1990 to 53 percent in 2008 as the number of white children declined, the number of blacks stayed stable and the number of Hispanics increased.

The 2008 census estimates used local records of births and deaths, tax records of people moving within the U.S., and census statistics on immigrants. The figures for "white" refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity.

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Edited March 10, 2010 by Paul and Vanessa

[Nessa 23]

if minorities outnumber majority, doesn't it cease to be minority?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

This wouldn't be an issue if we'd deport trash mothers who border jump to have their kids here. Kids should not be citizens to foreign born parents who think they can 'sneak' in here.

Going through this process has made me loathe illegals even more than ever. It's time to crack down on it.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

goddamn minorities!

/s

[Nessa 23]

why are u so racist? i don't see how less whites being born is an issue...

[Ali G. 37]

This wouldn't be an issue if we'd deport trash mothers who border jump to have their kids here. Kids should not be citizens to foreign born parents who think they can 'sneak' in here.

Going through this process has made me loathe illegals even more than ever. It's time to crack down on it.

Hey we agree on something. It's why numerous countries have amended their constitution requiring one of the parents to be a citizen of the country.

I guess who is paying for the majority of these kids? It certainly isn't their US landscaping job.

[LaL 418]

why are u so racist? i don't see how less whites being born is an issue...

[Ali G. 37]

why are u so racist? i don't see how less whites being born is an issue...

Who is paying for their birth?

Anyway this is just another thing they can hog. They already hog 3/4 of the immigration system; already have the largest representation for gang bangers; already have the highest number of single parent unwed teenage pregnancies. Why not just add overall babies to the list?

Edited March 10, 2010 by Booyah

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

America is a nation of many colors! Celebrate diversity!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Paul,

A casual observer of the front page of OT will see this:

Prima facie, it is less than clear that your argument is about illegal immigrants. The accuracy of your claim that without illegal immigration, this would stay a white-majority nation notwithstanding, tell me this - does that screenshot really portray a desired image of VJ?

[Ali G. 37]

Prima facie, it is less than clear that your argument is about illegal immigrants. The accuracy of your claim that without illegal immigration, this would stay a white-majority nation notwithstanding, tell me this - does that screenshot really portray a desired image of VJ?

Actually one group hogging the majority of the immigration system does say a lot.

I went down this path a few years ago. Remember that one..

Edited March 10, 2010 by Booyah

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Actually one group hogging the majority of the immigration system does say a lot.

Filipinas?

[Scott & Lai 12]

Actually, "minority" births will only outnumber "white" births when all minority groups are considered together as a collective group.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Actually one group hogging the majority of the immigration system does say a lot.

My point is narrowly focused on the casual observer who only sees the thread title and sub-title. The juxtaposition is unfortunate, to say the least. It sends the wrong message for this site is all about.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Actually one group hogging the majority of the immigration system does say a lot.