Mexican-Origin Population Surges in Hawai’i

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), native-born Mexicans and their U.S.-born children have an increasing presence in Hawai’i.

Since 1990, their population has increased 165 percent. In the 2010 Census, 120,841 people statewide identified themselves as Hispanic, the majority of which are Mexican-origin. This is one in ten – up from 87,693 in 2000, when Hispanics comprised 7 percent of Hawai’i residents. Maui has the fastest-growing Hispanic population, up 58 percent from the previous decade, to 14,960. The increase was similar on the island of Hawaii, which counted 21,383 Hispanic residents, a 52 percent jump in 10 years. The overall state population grew 12 percent during the last decade.

In the study, “Newcomers to the Aloha State, Challenges and Prospects for Mexicans in Hawai’i,” MPI and the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s Ethnic Studies Department reported mixed results. Acknowledging that the Mexican population is small but growing, MPI wrote that because the community is widely dispersed, it lacks common goals and a cohesive identity which makes it difficult to represent itself culturally.

Hawai’i’s Mexican-origin residents also struggle economically compared to the state’s overall population. Although Hawai’i has a long history of successfully integrating different ethnic groups and their divergent cultures, MPI notes that Mexican-origin residents have had neither their needs noticed nor addressed at the policy-making state level.

MPI’s recommendations are familiar to Californians. They include expanding classes in English as a second language and age-appropriate, taxpayer-funded services for infants, young children and elderly residents.

No one thinks of Hawai’i as a border state. But the state’s Hispanic population surge during the last three decades confirms that once illegal immigrants get past the border, they’re safe from deportation.

John Sandweg, until recently Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director, told the Los Angeles Times: “If you are a run-of-the-mill immigrant here illegally, your odds of getting deported are close to zero – it’s just highly unlikely to happen.”

Once established, illegal immigrants get jobs, have families and earn enough to become mobile. Border security is essential to keep illegal immigration-related population increases at a minimum.