The Top 10 Things You Should Know About California’s Demographic Changes and Immigration Politics

[pampango]

Latinos are seen on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, where many businesses cater to a
Spanish-speaking clientele, on May 11, 2011. The Hispanic share of California’s population grew
from just over 25 percent in 1990 to almost 38 percent in 2010.

In advance of California’s Republican primary tomorrow, here are 10 important facts about immigrants and people of color in the state that display their significant economic, cultural, and electoral power.

1. Communities of color are driving California’s population growth.
2. Voters of color make up a large share of California’s electorate.
3. Close to half of immigrants in California are naturalized citizens—meaning that they are eligible to vote.
4. With the most recent redistricting process in California, 19 out of 53 congressional districts are now majority Latino, the largest number of majority-Latino districts in the country.
5. California led the country when anti-immigrant politics surrounding Proposition 187 in 1994 helped flip the state from red to blue.
6. In 2011 California passed a state DREAM Act.
7. Communities of color add billions of dollars to California’s economy as consumers.
8. Californian business owners of color own over a quarter of businesses in the state and employ thousands of workers.
9. Immigrants are essential to California’s economy as workers.
10. Immigrants contribute billions of dollars in state and local taxes.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/06/ca_demographics_fact_sheet.html

More information on each bullet point at the link.

I read elsewhere that more Americans are leaving California now than moving to it. The only reason the population is still growing there is immigration, largely Hispanic and Asian.