Hispanic growth booms in state

The Hispanic population grew faster in South Carolina than anywhere else in the nation last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.

South Carolina's Hispanic population grew 8.7 percent during the year that ended July 1, 2007, according to an analysis of the Census data for The Associated Press by William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. That was faster than any other state and well ahead of the national average of 3.3 percent, he said.

The news of the growth didn't do much to encourage a local Hispanic activist on her way to church to pray for changes in the nation's immigration laws.

"I don't believe it," said Diana Salazar, president of the Latino Association of Charleston.

The figures were released on the same day thousands of immigrants and activists gathered in cities across the country to demand comprehensive immigration reform, including citizenship opportunitiesfor the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, the AP reported. Outdoor rallies drew thousands in cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington.

Meanwhile in South Carolina, state lawmakers continued to hammer out a bill that would crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers. In that climate, local Hispanics are afraid to demonstrate publicly, Salazar said.

"We figured immigration officials wouldn't come inside a church," said Salazar, a legal citizen of Mexican descent. "It's just sad. I think it's a shame."

She was urging Hispanics to attend a special evening Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Johns Island. The Spanish-language service celebrated the Virgin Mary but included prayers just for immigration reform, Msgr. Charles Hutson Rowland said.

South Carolina gained 13,569 Hispanics last year, swelling the documented Hispanic population to 168,920, according to the Census Bureau. That's 3.8 percent of the state's population. The state's Hispanic population increased 76 percent since July 2000, according to the Census Bureau.

The actual Hispanic population is probably three times the official estimate, according to the Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies at the University of South Carolina, which estimates it at closer to half a million.

Nine of the top 10 states with the highest Hispanic growth rates last year were in the South, according to Frey's analysis. Tennessee's Hispanic population grew 8.1 percent; North Carolina's 7.8 percent; Georgia's 7.1 percent; Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky 7 percent; Arkansas 6.8 percent; and Louisiana 6.5 percent.

The nation's Hispanic population reached 45.5 million last July, or 15.1 percent of the estimated total U.S. population of 301.6 million, according to the Census Bureau's report.

The report also said California had the largest Hispanic population of any state (13.2 million), followed by Texas (8.6 million) and Florida (3.8 million). Texas had the largest numerical increase (308,000), followed by California (268,000) and Florida (131,000). In New Mexico, Hispanics made up the highest proportion of the total population (44 percent), with California and Texas (36 percent each) next in line.