More areas see Hispanic majorities

May 12, 2008
More areas see Hispanic majorities
By Enrique Rangel
Globe-News Austin Bureau



Teresa Jasso's family came to Crosbyton decades ago.

Changing Demographics
In 11 rural West Texas counties, Hispanics now make up the majority. As the U.S. Census Bureau reported last year, that number is expected to get even larger because Texas leads the nation in population growth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
County Hispanic population Anglo population

Bailey 3,387 2,970

Castro 3,886 3,170

Cochran 1,576 1,406

Crosby 3,175 2,946

Dawson 7,029 5,641

Deaf Smith 11,599 6,660

Floyd 3,347 3,257

Hale 17,532 16,526

Moore 10,638 9,320

Parmer 5,383 3,947

Yoakum 3,750 3,447
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she was a little girl her father, a migrant worker, would often take the family out of the area to work on the fields. Jasso married in the early 1970's, and she and her husband, Gilbert, from nearby Ralls, settled in Crosbyton.
Now, the couple's four children are grown.

For the past five years, the family has owned and operated Teresa's Cocina, a popular Mexican restaurant on Main Street. Almost daily local farmers and elected officials meet there for an early breakfast.

Among them are Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, who enjoys a meal and talks about just about everything, mainly farming issues and politics.

"We decided to stay and so did our children," Jasso said. "Only one lives in Lubbock."

For the average West Texan, the Jasso family's story might be uneventful. But for demographers it is a unique case study.

The Jassos exemplify the rapidly changing demographics in rural West Texas. While 33 rural counties in the Panhandle/South Plains region lost population during the first six years of this decade, in places like Crosby County, the Hispanic population is growing.

It's now the majority group.

Crosby County lost 7.4 percent of its population during the same period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet, Hispanics became the largest ethnic group in the county. They now narrowly outnumber Anglos, 3,175 to 2,946.

"This region is changing before our eyes," said Heflin, whose House District 85 includes the largest percentage of Spanish-surnamed residents.

"Many people have left ... so if it wasn't for Hispanics, many more West Texas communities would be like ghost towns."

It is the same story in Castro County.

From 2000 to 2006, the county lost 10.1 percent of its population. And though Hispanics slightly outnumbered Anglos in 2000, now they are the dominant group.

There were 3,886 Hispanics in the county, compared with 3,170 Anglos according to the 2006 Census estimate.

"When I moved here 30 years ago, we represented about 30 or no more than 35 percent of the population," said Castro County Commissioner Larry Gonzales. "But in 25 years or less we became the majority."

Like Jasso in Crosby County, Gonzales decided to settle down in Castro County to raise his family.

Gonzales attributes the Hispanic population growth in other counties to the fact that entire families have stayed while young Anglos have left for greener pastures.

Equally important, the dairy industry has fueled the growth of the Hispanic population in Castro and neighboring counties for the last 10 years, Gonzales noted.

"The dairies are attracting a lot of 'Mexicanos,' " Gonzales said. "And though a lot of them are legal immigrants, there are also some who are here illegally."

Some unhappy

However, Gonzales and other officials wish the dairy industry would pay higher wages.

Various county offices and other business groups wooing the industry to the Panhandle and the South Plains say that on average dairy worker earns about $12 an hour.

Most workers are expected to work overtime because the cows need constant attention.

Still, even working extra hours, the most an average dairy worker can make is $30,000 a year. That's not enough to support a family of four in the Panhandle, according to a recent study by the Austin-based think-tank Center for Public Policy Priorities.

The study concluded that a family of four needs to have an income of at least $33,757 to make it in the Amarillo Metropolitan Area. That means the spouse of a dairy worker also has to work, even part-time, to make ends meet.

Lubbock County Commissioner Ysidro Gutierrez said that although he was born and has lived in Lubbock all of his life, he knows rural West Texas rather well. For that reason, he recommends young Hispanics in small towns and ranches to leave.

"I don't see a lot of change, at least for the next five years," Gutierrez said. "I hope that young Hispanics move out of the rural areas. They have more chances of getting a better paying job in urban areas."

Others like Jesse Romero, who lobbies the Texas Legislature for bilingual education funding, said funding for such programs has remained stagnant for more than two decades, while the number of Hispanic immigrant children in West Texas grows at a faster pace than the general student population.

"Historically, bilingual education was just a South Texas issue, from San Antonio down," Romero said. "But not anymore. There is a great need for bilingual ed in the Panhandle and in the Lubbock area, and it's more acute in rural areas because they just don't have the resources."

School districts, such as those in Bovina and Dumas, have long struggled to hire bilingual teachers. Their efforts often are unsuccessful because few college graduates are interested in working in rural areas, school superintendents say.

Bailey County Commissioner Juan Chavez hopes Hispanics' transition from minority to majority group is tension-free, particularly when trying to get political representation.

"I still remember the 1960s and '70s and even the '80s when there was too much resistance from the Anglos," Chavez said. "It was a major struggle."

But some like Heflin said they hope those days are long over.

In Crosbyton, for example, this year's man and woman of the year were Hispanic, he said.

"Let's face it, the face of Texas of all Texas is changing and evolving and that is true, too, in rural West Texas," Heflin added. "And I hope we made some progress during the past 30 or 35 years and move forward."

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/051208/new_10309584.shtml