Hispanic Population Skyrockets in Arkansas, New US Census
Below are bullet points (excerpts in exact words but rearranged some) from the story "2 counties' Hispanic population skyrockets" by Arkansas Democrat Gazette February 15, 2011.
§ SPRINGDALE — The Hispanic population of Benton and Washington counties has more than doubled over the past 10 years, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday. Each of those counties had more than 30,000 Hispanic residents in 2010.
§ While Benton and Washington counties had the most Hispanic people, other counties across the state also saw more people identifying with the ethnic group. In 2010, eight other counties - Yell, Washington, Benton, Bradley, Carroll, Sebastian, Johnson and Hempstead - had double-digit percentages of Hispanic residents.
§ Among cities, Springdale has the largest Hispanic population in the northwest region, with 24,692 residents. More than one-third of the city’s residents, or 35 percent, are Hispanic. The number of Hispanics living in Springdale jumped by 174 percent from 2000 to 2010.
§ “I don’t think that’s a surprise,” Mayor Doug Sprouse said. “I would love to see more Hispanics become involved in seeking elected office.” Sprouse said the city has benefited from the influx of people from other cultures. The city was a homogeneous white community when he was growing up there, the mayor said. “I have seen what a positive that is for our kids to grow up in a city that has that diversity,” Sprouse said.
§ “Probably more than 80 or 85 percent of those Hispanics are Mexican,” said Andres Chao, the Mexican consul for Arkansas. Chao, who is based in Little Rock, said he was not surprised by the census numbers. “We opened the consulate here in Arkansas in April 2007...because the population was growing really fast,” he said.
§ The number of Hispanics living in Benton County jumped by 155 percent from 2000 to 2010. The county now has 34,283 Hispanic residents, compared with 13,469 in 2000.
§ In Washington County, the Hispanic population grew by 143 percent over the same period, from 12,932 to 31,458.
§ Hispanics made up 186,050 of the state’s population in 2010, up from 86,866 a decade ago.
§ Pulaski County had the third-most with 22,168 Hispanic residents in 2010, up from 8,816 in 2000. Sebastian County followed with 15,445 Hispanic residents in 2010, up from 7,710 in 2000.
§ Hispanics account for 31 percent of the residents of Rogers, up from 19 percent in 2000. The total population in Rogers in 2010 was 55,964.
§ The number of Hispanics in Fayetteville increased by 68 percent to 4,725 in 2010. That’s 6.4 percent of the city’s total population of 73,580.
This is a crime, folks, and our Governor and legislators should be held responsible. Other states have passed strong laws limiting the benefits to illegal aliens; the illegal aliens from those states are fleeing to Arkansas. Some of our own Republicans won't even co-sponsor the HB1292 and HB1008, even those Republicans in the Northwest where the problem is the worst. Statistics indicate that only about 1/3 of foreign born people in Arkansas even apply for citizenship so we concede that 33% MAY be legal but the others 2/3 are not.
§ SPRINGDALE — The Hispanic population of Benton and Washington counties has more than doubled over the past 10 years, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday. Each of those counties had more than 30,000 Hispanic residents in 2010.
§ While Benton and Washington counties had the most Hispanic people, other counties across the state also saw more people identifying with the ethnic group. In 2010, eight other counties - Yell, Washington, Benton, Bradley, Carroll, Sebastian, Johnson and Hempstead - had double-digit percentages of Hispanic residents.
§ Among cities, Springdale has the largest Hispanic population in the northwest region, with 24,692 residents. More than one-third of the city’s residents, or 35 percent, are Hispanic. The number of Hispanics living in Springdale jumped by 174 percent from 2000 to 2010.
§ “I don’t think that’s a surprise,” Mayor Doug Sprouse said. “I would love to see more Hispanics become involved in seeking elected office.” Sprouse said the city has benefited from the influx of people from other cultures. The city was a homogeneous white community when he was growing up there, the mayor said. “I have seen what a positive that is for our kids to grow up in a city that has that diversity,” Sprouse said.
§ “Probably more than 80 or 85 percent of those Hispanics are Mexican,” said Andres Chao, the Mexican consul for Arkansas. Chao, who is based in Little Rock, said he was not surprised by the census numbers. “We opened the consulate here in Arkansas in April 2007...because the population was growing really fast,” he said.
§ The number of Hispanics living in Benton County jumped by 155 percent from 2000 to 2010. The county now has 34,283 Hispanic residents, compared with 13,469 in 2000.
§ In Washington County, the Hispanic population grew by 143 percent over the same period, from 12,932 to 31,458.
§ Hispanics made up 186,050 of the state’s population in 2010, up from 86,866 a decade ago.
§ Pulaski County had the third-most with 22,168 Hispanic residents in 2010, up from 8,816 in 2000. Sebastian County followed with 15,445 Hispanic residents in 2010, up from 7,710 in 2000.
§ Hispanics account for 31 percent of the residents of Rogers, up from 19 percent in 2000. The total population in Rogers in 2010 was 55,964.
§ The number of Hispanics in Fayetteville increased by 68 percent to 4,725 in 2010. That’s 6.4 percent of the city’s total population of 73,580.
This is a crime, folks, and our Governor and legislators should be held responsible. Other states have passed strong laws limiting the benefits to illegal aliens; the illegal aliens from those states are fleeing to Arkansas. Some of our own Republicans won't even co-sponsor the HB1292 and HB1008, even those Republicans in the Northwest where the problem is the worst. Statistics indicate that only about 1/3 of foreign born people in Arkansas even apply for citizenship so we concede that 33% MAY be legal but the others 2/3 are not.
posted by Debbie Pelley at Thursday, February 17, 2011
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