Two reports recently released by the Pew Hispanic Center reveal some interesting changes in the Hispanic population of the United States. In a report titled “How many Hispanics? Comparing Census Counts and Census Estimates,” released March 15, the Pew Hispanic Center states the Hispanic population is greater than the Census Bureau estimates. This is especially true in states with relatively small Hispanic populations. For the thirty-three states for which the Census Bureau has released statistics, Pew found the Hispanic population to be 1.5 percent greater than the estimates. An interesting statistic is that Hispanics account for 58 percent of the growth in those states over the last decade. You can read the entire report here.
The second report released February 1 was titled “Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010.” The most interesting statistic in this report is that the unauthorized immigrant population increased in 2010 after declining since 2007. This increase is in spite of The U.S.’s economic downturn over the last several years. Currently there are 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. The entire report can be viewed here.
The implication for ministry is that the Hispanic diaspora has not stopped. This mission field continues to move north and probably will do so for at least the next few years. We have an opportunity to continue training workers to be sent into the mission field, and even train workers from within the mission field to return home as missionaries one day!
