Latinos leading the population boom in Utah
By Brandon Loomis, Rosemary Winters and Tony Semerad
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 08/06/2008 08:43:06 PM MDT

Latinos have led Utah's robust population growth since 2000, surging faster than other residents in 28 of 29 counties, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

In some counties the shift is explosive, such as a 121 percent jump by Latinos in Wasatch County, where the rest of the population grew by 30 percent from the 2000 Census through July 1 last year. In other cases, the diversification just kept chugging along: 48 percent Latino growth in Salt Lake County, which increased by 12 percent overall.

The demographics report shows a blending of cultures and colors statewide - a trend experts and advocates say is starting a political shift that will crescendo in a generation. Even in Tooele County - the only one where the Anglo spurt outpaced the percentage growth by other groups - Latinos added more than a quarter to their numbers since 2000.

Statewide, the Latino population has swelled by 105,000 - to top 306,500 - since 2000. That's a 52 percent leap. Latinos now comprise nearly 12 percent of all Utahns (and most experts agree the real number is higher).

Some Latinos who have relocated here since 2000 say "family" is Utah's attraction.

For Murray medical clinic assistant Silvia Aviles and her husband, Manuel, the Salt Lake Valley was a better option than Los Angeles County, Calif., where they left two years ago. Now, owning a home for their three boys is a realistic goal.

Utah is a "family state," she said. "I wanted them to have a really normal childhood."

Gloria Medina Grass likewise came for her family's sake, immigrating to Park City from Mexico for what she thought would be a six-month housekeeping stint. She hoped her sons would learn enough English to help them later in jobs at U.S.-owned factories in Chihuahua.

Instead, she married Heber City resident Gregory Grass. They opened the Tarahumara restaurant in Midway, thriving on Gloria's recipes.

"I always said it's OK if I don't have a big house or a big car," she said. "I want to have a lot of food on the table for my boys. Now we can say we have a lot to eat."

The new demographics are plain whether in the state's urban core or on the rural deserts. Delta Mayor Gayle Bunker said the dairies and egg farms around his west-central Utah town have attracted hardworking Latino families and built a language barrier. Delta is part of Millard County, where the overall minority population is now 15 percent. That makes Millard the fourth most diverse county - after San Juan, Salt Lake and Weber - just seven years after it was ranked 13th, and the change comes largely from Latino workers and their children.

"They're fulfilling a niche that us white people don't want to do," Bunker said. "They're working for less money. They're very family-oriented, for the most part. The biggest thing that I notice is the language barrier."

Through much of Utah, the numbers aren't tilting toward new immigrants anymore. Instead, they show Latinos here are having babies even faster than the state's nation-leading birthrate. In Salt Lake County, for instance, the report shows about a third of the babies are now Latinos.

"We've got a generational shift going on here, and it's a matter of the next 10 to 15 years when those kids reach the labor market and voting age that they will gain power in the system," University of Utah demographer Pam Perlich said.

The political shift may be even more pronounced than the numbers suggest, she said, because children are vote-eligible citizens even if some of their parents are not.

Meanwhile, she said, it's imperative that Utah attract "culturally competent" teachers, medical-care providers and others who can help the rapidly diversifying youths to succeed - and support the aging Anglo population in retirement.

The state is trying to keep up by educating its teachers to help nonnative English learners, Deputy State Education Superintendent Larry Shumway said. About a tenth of Utah's 550,000 students have limited English proficiency, he said.

This year the Legislature allotted $3 million to launch family English-learning centers in districts that apply for them and qualify based on need. The legislation also grants $2 million a year to the program. That's on top of $4.3 million that the state spends annually for nonnative English needs in classrooms.

Utah's growth leader since 2000, Washington County, has more than doubled its Latino population.

Manny Aguilar, a St. George Latino activist, said the influx has done little to transform what he calls "Wonderbread County."

"The growth of Latinos has not created any representation for us in Washington County," he said. Anti-immigration groups have made legal immigrants feel unwelcome, he added, and are protesting a visit of the Mexican Consulate this month.

California transplant Armando Porras said St. George welcomed him when he arrived in 2001 seeking good schools and a sizable LDS community for his 13 children. He opened El Tapatio Market and said other Latino business owners are following.

"We're making a great presence here," he said. "You can see that more Latinos with better careers are coming here."

The rapid growth statewide brings political opportunities and challenges for Latinos. In Ogden, more campaign signs are sprouting in central-city lawns these days, City Councilman Jesse Garcia said, a clear indication that politicians are courting the people of color who live there.

"This community and culture are built on diversity," he said, "and I think it's great."

That goes double for him outside of politics, now that ethnic markets offer the kinds of chiles, chorizo sausages and vermicelli noodles that he grew up enjoying in Texas but once had to leave Utah to find.
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