California, Here We ComernKat}’, Bar the Doorrnby Roger D. McGrathrnIt lias happened. Whites hac heeii redueed to a miiioritv inrnCahfornia. By whites, I mean, of eourse, “non-His|3anicrnwhites,” beeanse most of the iUegal ahens nho have pouredrnaeross the border from Mexieo during the last 30 ears tornchange dramaticalK the eomposihon of California’s popnlahonrnare mestizo, a mixture of Spanish and American hidian, thoughrnsome —especialK’ those illegal aliens whose origin is Guatemalarn—seem pureh’ hidian. hidian or mestizo, die new populationrn(which also includes significant numbers of SaKadorans)rnlittle resembles the Mexicans descended from old Californiarnfamilies who lobbied successfulK during the 192()’s to be designatedrnas “white” in the census.rn.Mthough die numbers are both debated, there are probabK’rnfie to seeii million illegal aliens and children of illegal aliensrnin California. Some 80 percent of these are of Mexican origin.rnThis unchecked flow of illegal immigrants has made Californiarn30 percent I.ahno. Americans of European descent now makernup onl’ 47 percent of die popidation, widi Asians at 11 percentrnand blacks at 6 percent. .As reecuHv as 1970, whites were morerndian 80 percent of the popidation. The total popnlahon is nowrns4 million, an increase of 12 million since 1970, and none ofrnthis growdi has come from the luiropean-Amcrican population.rnSince die earl- 1970’s, more whites hac moed out otrnCalifornia dian into the state, and the w bite birthrate lias fallenrnbelow replacement level. If both legal and illegal immignitionrnhad been hglitlv controlled, C’alifornia’s popidahon would ha ernstabilized 30 ears ago, something for Califoniians to contemplaternduring die next power shortage, water rationing, or freewaxrngridlock.rnPopulation projections are alwas ])roblcniatic, but, if diernrates of increase and demographic change remain the same, byrnRoger D. McGrath is the author of Cunfighters, Higliwaincn,rnand Vigilantes.rnthe ear 2030, California will be home to 50 million people,rnand fewer than 20 percent of them will he of b.uropcan extraction.rnWhites will be outnumbered not onh’ b Lahnos, but hrnAsians. Blacks will probabh maintain their six-percent share ofrnthe popnlahon but will continue to be displaced from dicir oldrnncighbodioods, which liaxe been cspccialh’ hard hit b’ Mexicanrnimmigrahon. ,A good example of such displacement is oecurringrnin Oxnard, a seaside, mostlx working-class eommunihrnthat is Ventura Counh’s largest cih. Blacks made up se en percentrnof the ]3opidahon in 1980; toda, die cih is onl- dirce percentrnblack, and the black population is likeb to dip under twornpercent b the next census. Meanw bile, the percentage of Latinosrnhas increased from 40 to 66. “()xuard is just not a friendbrnplace anniore,” said Rnb Nines, a 55-car-old black woman,rnin a Los Angeles Times interview. “Tliev cater to Ilispanics inrnOxnard. C^alifornia is beginning to seem like a foreign eountrrnto me.” X’incs plans to nunc back to her native Texas. AlanriccrnQuails, born and reared in Oxnard, recendv moved to Las ‘ e -rngas because of the Alcxican influx. Returning to Oxnard to isit,rnhe complained, “Here dierc’s a I ,atino nia or and Latino eitrnmanager. And fliere has been a lot of problems widi black andrnLatino gangs. Out on die streets, black ]3eople are outnumbered.’rnCompetition for jobs has dri en nianv blacks from Oxnard.rn”There’s not enough work to go around,” said Robert Wilber. “Irndon’t think it’s prejudice, but once I lispanies get in a neighborhood,rntlic bring all dicir faniik’, and then tlie all get jobs. Sornthev hae so man- working, die can alwaxs get a house andrnkee|3 it.” A famiK of illegal aliens nearb- demonstrates Wilbcr’srnpoint. Liing together in a small, flircedicdroom bouse are 12rnMexicans — a modier and fadicr, he sons, a grandfather, anrnaunt and uncle, and two cousins. “We like it here,” said one ofrnthe sons. “b’Aerbod works. And mosd’ evervboch’ aroundrnhere speaks Spanish.” ‘Ibis helps to explain win- Oxnard hasrn22/(:HRONICLESrnrnrn