Rural Laws: October, 1999 - Number #3

The Census Bureau reported that there were 25.2 million foreign-born residents of the US on July 1, 1998—making them 9.3 percent of US residents. In 1850, the foreign-born were 9.7 percent of the population enumerated in the first Census of Population. The foreign-born share of the US population reached its nadir in 1970, at 4.7 percent; it peaked at 14.8 percent in 1890.

About 10.7 million of foreign-born residents are Hispanic, followed by 6.4 million foreign-born Asian Americans. For more information: http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/us_nativity.html

On September 15, the Commerce Department released its annual estimates of the US population by race, Hispanic origin, age and sex for the US, 50 states, and 3,142 counties. The number of Hispanics increased by 35 percent between 1990 and 1998, from 22.4 million to 30.3 million, while the number of Asians rose 40 percent, from 7.5 million to 10.5 million.

The number of African Americans increased from 30.5 million in 1990 to 34.4 million in 1998. The Census Bureau projected that the Hispanic population would be larger than the non-Hispanic black population by 2004. The American Indian population rose from 2.1 to 2.4 million.

California in 1998 had 10.1 million Hispanic residents, followed by Texas (5.9 million); Florida (2.2 million); New York (2.6 million); and Arizona (1 million). About 11 percent of US residents were Hispanic. New Mexico had the highest share of Hispanic residents-- 40 percent—followed by California, 31 percent; and Texas, 30 percent. In Arkansas (49,000 Hispanics in 1998); Georgia (220,000); Nevada (78,000); and North Carolina (161,000), Hispanic populations more than doubled between 1990 and 1998.

New York had 3.2 million Black residents. Between 1990 and 1998, Florida registered the largest numerical increase (495,000) in Black residents, followed by Georgia (430,000); Texas (382,000); Maryland (232,000); and North Carolina (204,000). In 1998, 62 percent of District of Columbia residents were African American. For more information: http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/statepop.html

Poverty . About 12.7 percent of the 271 million Americans—34.5 million persons—lived in households that had incomes below the poverty line in 1998—the poverty line was $16,660 for a family of four in 1998, and $13,003 for a family of three. The share of US residents in nonmetro areas living in households with incomes below the poverty line fell to 14.4 percent in 1998—the poverty rate in metro areas was 12.3 percent.

About 25.6 percent of Hispanics lived in below-poverty level households, including 34 percent of Hispanic children.

The median income of American households rose to $39,000 in 1998, meaning that half of American households had incomes above $39,000, and half had incomes below $39,000.

Southeast . In most cases, southeastern states have made the transition from Black-white relations to Black-white-Hispanic relations smoothly. However, there have been protests. Over 400 of the 600 residents of Bybee, Tennessee signed a petition to prevent a Migrant Head Start center from opening on land leased by a retired farmer for the center to care for the children of Hispanic migrant workers.

If opened, the Migrant Head Start program, operated by Raleigh-based Telamon Corp., would use federal funds and employ 25 people to care for 50 children ranging in age from infancy to four years. A MHS center planned for nearby Parrottsville was abandoned in 1997 because of local opposition.

The protests against the MHS program included the burning of a barn on the land that was being donated to build the center-- the FBI was asked to investigate the arson as a possible hate crime. According to the FBI, Hispanics were targeted in more than half the ethnic-related hate crimes in the US 1997--- 491 of 836. The farmer whose barn was burned said: "You'd never get any of the white people to do the job [tobacco work]. ---If it weren't for the migrants, [farming] would be over."

Local residents say that migrants are attracted to the area by two large tobacco farms; some assert that the migrants displace local workers and depress wages and working conditions. Workers harvest tobacco by cutting and spearing about 1,000 stalks a day for $100: the tobacco is then hung in barns to dry. The Head Start project is now on hold pending an environmental study.

The INS is creating 45 Quick Response Teams to deal with immigration in rural and agricultural areas that have had recent influxes of immigrants. For example, Latino immigrants have moved into Dalton, Georgia to work in the carpet industry. Other states with INS Quick Response Teams are Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

The Missouri General Assembly in August created an Interim Committee on Immigration which will hold hearings around the state on the impact of immigration on schools, law enforcement, health agencies and local economies.

Immigrants at the beginning of the 20 th century avoided the southeast; immigrants at the end of the 20 th century are attracted to the southeast by jobs in agriculture and manufacturing. In Georgia, local observers say: "In Dalton, they (Hispanic immigrants) are in the carpet industry; in Gainesville (Georgia.), it's poultry; in metro Atlanta, it's construction." In the Dalton area, the number of Hispanics is estimated at 25,000 to 50,000 in a county that in 1990 had a population of 72,000.

The Courier-Journal on July 20, 1999 ran several articles on the changing face of Kentucky, noting that the influx began with southeast Asian refugees in 1975, and has accelerated as Hispanics moved into the state in the 1990s—there are about 5,000 Vietnamese and 5,000 Hispanics in Louisville. Kentucky's Employment Service estimates that 70 percent to 80 percent of the 25,000 farm workers who cut and hang tobacco are Hispanic and the majority are in the US illegally.

For the first time, Belle Glade, Florida has a black majority on its five-member city commission. Fifty-four percent of Belle Glade's voters, many from the Caribbean, are Black. The city commission says it hopes to move municipal elections to March, because during September, most of Belle Glade's migrant farm workers are out of town.

Gil Klein, "A growing number of Hispanics settling in south," Times-Picayune, October 3, 1999. Larry Hobbs, "Belle Glade has first majority black commission," Palm Beach Post, October 2, 1999.Kit Wagar, "Panel to study Hispanic influx in Missouri," Kansas City Star August 29, 1999. Kathy Scruggs, "Heated passions over a Head Start for migrant children come to a head as program backer hit by suspicious fire," Atlanta Journal and Constitution, August 26, 1999. Mark Bixler, "INS teams help state's cities deal with illegals," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 12, 1999. Linda Stahl. "Immigrants give Kentucky a new face," Courier-Journal, July 20, 1999. http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/1999/9907/20/990720imm.html