Hispanics Reach A Population Milestone in Texas
Latinos in San Antonio’s Westside attend a political rally. [Michael Roman Mural] Photo by Ricardo Romo
Alexa Ura, a writer for The Texas Tribune, reported that migration and birth rates were responsible for much of the population increases among Hispanics. She noted that 49.3 percent of Texans under 18 are Hispanic. The New York Post added that the “numbers have been trending towards a Hispanic plurality for years in Texas, with nearly 11 residents of that ethnic group gained for every additional White non-Hispanic resident over the previous decade.”
The American G.I.Forum and the League of Latin American Citizens [LULAC] were instrumental in the first voter registration drives in Texas. Photo courtesy of Forum Commander Larry Romo.
residents; El Paso 656,000 Hispanics; and Austin-Round Rock 631,000 Hispanics.
Everything is big in Texas except educational opportunities. Texas is near the bottom in public school support for its K-12 students. The state of New York leads the nation with an average expenditure of $24,040 per pupil, while Texas expends less than half of that with an average of $9,606 per pupil, and less in school districts with low property wealth. Texas’s average per pupil expenditure is an embarrassing $600 higher than Mississippi’s average of $8,935 per pupil. As Hispanics strive to improve their educational status, they are hampered by the lack of funding and historical inequities in state school finance. White Texans have a high school completion rate of 94.4 percent, while Hispanic high school completion rests at only 71 percent. The educational gaps are even more evident in college completion where Whites have a more than two-to-one advantage [39.4% to 16.1%] over Hispanics in completing college with a degree.
Political participation among Latinos across all generations will be essential in the upcoming 2022 elections. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
The high levels of poverty in the Latino communities of Texas continue to challenge policymakers. The Texas Tribune reported that the poverty level of Hispanics exceeded twice that of Whites [19.4% to 8.4%]. Nearly one in five Hispanic families in Texas live in poverty. Poverty negatively affects the bodies and the minds of young and old. Children who do not have enough to eat are especially harmed by the lack of good nutrition. Federal programs that provide free lunches have been of great help, but families without children in school also suffer from food shortages. Housing is another area of disparity. Low-income people have few housing choices. Most low-income Latino families do not own their homes, move frequently, and cannot build financial equity or family wealth through home ownership. Transient experiences in housing also have an adverse impact on children’s educational and upward mobility opportunities.
The high poverty level among Latinos is related to lower educational status which often leads to low-paid work in unskilled employment. Today Latinos make up a large sector of service workers. At the lower end of the income scale, many service workers earn less than $15 dollars an hour. Whites in Texas earn an annual median income of $81,384, while Hispanics’ annual median income is $54,857. Policy experts predict that poverty will persist until state policymakers employ more effective tools to combat this income disparity. Many Hispanics believe that the current Texas Republican government is insensitive to their plight. As a consequence, Latinos are mounting a get-out-the-vote campaign to elect Latinos to state-wide offices. Currently, no Latinos hold state-wide offices in Texas.
Biden-Harris supporters were prominent on election day across the state of Texas in the 2020 election. Photo: Ricardo Romo.
The news last week that Hispanics are the largest population group in Texas was coupled with The New York Times article, “Hispanic Voters Still Lean Blue, Poll Concludes.” Although Texas has been a Republican Party bastion for the past 30 years, many pollsters predict that the large increase of Hispanics reaching voting age over the past decade may soon contribute to political change in the Lone Star State.
On a national scale, the New York Times poll found that overall Hispanic voters are more likely to agree with Democrats on many issues, especially immigration, gun policy, and climate. They are more likely to see Republicans as the party of the elite and as holding extreme views. These views are reflected in the poll’s finding that 56 percent of Hispanic voters plan to vote for Democratic candidates while only 32 percent expect to vote for Republicans.
The New York Times poll also found that support for Donald Trump and Republicans was greater in Southern
states, including Texas and Florida, compared to Eastern and Western states. Trump did indeed make some inroads in South Texas in 2020. The recent election of a Republican Latina to the U.S. Congress from the Rio
Grande Valley region sent political shock waves throughout the state’s Democratic leadership. However,
overall, Latino voters favor the Democratic party, largely because of its positions on the economy, crime and
policing, illegal immigration, and gun policy. According to the New York Times poll, these are the top five pressing political issues for Latinos.
Congressman Joaquin Castro was re-elected by wide margins in San Antonio, Texas. Photo: Ricardo Romo,2020.
Latinos have managed to elect state and federal officials in Southwestern states with sizeable Hispanic populations, such as California [39.4% Hispanic], Arizona [30.7% Hispanic], Nevada [28.7% Hispanic], and New Mexico [47.7% Hispanic]. In states where Latinos are also a majority or near a majority, such as California, Nevada, and New Mexico, each has Latino Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Texas has Senator Ted Cruz, of Cuban descent, who does not identify with Latinos in his adopted state and has yet to propose any legislation that would assist Latinos. Moreover, Cruz has sided with state Republican leaders who passed legislation to suppress the votes of Black and Latinos. Missteps of other Texas Republican leaders include the busing of immigrants who have lawfully applied for asylum to Washington, D.C., New York, and Chicago using desperate women, children, and young men as political pawns.
The upcoming November 2022 elections will determine if Latinos will be able to alter the Republican
political domination in Texas given the recent demographic changes. It may be, as some pundits have suggested, that Texas will remain a red state until more Latinos eligible to vote actually register and actively participate in the electoral process. On the ballot this fall are numerous Latino political candidates committed to improving the conditions of Latinos in Texas. Expectations are high, but success will require strategic grassroots efforts among Latino Democrats in rural and urban areas. Greater Latino engagement in state politics might well have an impact on future national elections.
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Copyright 2022 by Ricardo Romo. Photo credits as indicated.