Los Angeles, Alta California
March 30, 2001
LA RAZA 2000: Huge Population Gains in
Alta California
Alta California
United States Census figures released Thursday show tremendous growth in the Mexicano/Chicano population in California. The new population figures mean more Mexicano and Chicano elected representatives at all levels of government once the decennial re-districting process is completed.
The total population count for California was 33,871,648. The percentage of Whites and Blacks in the statewide population has decreased, with Whites dropping to below 50% for the first time since their great migration into California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. Whites now constitute 46.7% of the California population while Blacks make up only 6.4%. There are no official census figures for the Jewish population but various academic sources estimate that their California state population is a little less than 3%.
The U.S Bureau of the Census released a California population figure of 10,966,566 Latinos. This is 32.4% of the total population but it lumps Mexicanos and Chicanos with other categories of Latinos. La Voz de Aztlan estimates that at least 80% of this figure are citizens and documented residents of Mexican descent. The 80% figure is arrived at using the 1990 Decennial Census which counted 6,118,996 persons of Mexican descent out of a total of 7,687, 938 Latinos counted in California. There has been some immigration of Central Americans to California since the 1990 census but it does not compare with the number of Mexicans immigrating to the state during the same period. The U.S. Bureau of the Census will release Latino population breakdowns in June of this year.
It is widely believed that the actual total number of persons of Mexican descent in California is much higher than the official U.S. census figures because many undocumented immigrants are never counted. This is due to widespread fear in immigrant communities that the U.S. government will deport them if they are enumerated on official census forms. The U.S. Census Bureau works very hard to count everyone by sending enumerators to homes that fail to return their census forms. However, the work is so overwhelming that many are simply not counted. In fact, even if a form is returned, it may not reflect the actual number of persons living in the household. This is because families who have undocumented relatives living at home simply do not include them.
The following are Census 2000 race and ethnic population figures for California:
CALIFORNIA
White. . . . . . . . . . . 15,816,790 . . . . . . . . 46.7%
Latino . . . . . . . . . . 10,966,566 . . . . . . . . 32.4%
Asian. . . . . . . . . . . .3,648,820 . . . . . . . . 10.8%
Black. . . . . . . . . . . .2,181,926 . . . . . . . . .6.4%
Other. . . . . . . . . . . .1,257,516 . . . . . . . . .3.7%
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Total Population . . . . 33,871,648 . . . . . . . . 100%
