More than half of births in county are to Hispanics

Saturday, August 13, 2005

By PAT STANLEY

Register Staff Writer

Signs in both English and Spanish adorn the walls of most Napa businesses and public agencies where a decade ago such a sight would have been rare. They reflect the rapidly changing face of Napa, with its booming Latino population -- some in the country illegally. The growing population of Latinos is very evident at local hospitals, where Latinos now account for the majority of new births in Napa County.

Nearly 51 percent of the 1,594 Napa County births in 2004 were to Hispanic moms, according to the county health department. Caucasians were second at 41.47 percent.

Four years ago "whites" made up the majority of births at 50.82 percent, while Hispanic births were at 46.71 percent.

A survey by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a nonprofit research organization, shows Napa now ranks 13th nationwide for the percentage of babies born to illegal aliens. The study showed 407 births in 2002 were to mothers of illegal alien status. That represents 26 percent of all births in the county and 60.4 percent of all immigrant births.

"Analysis of birth records shows that in 2002 almost one in four births in the United States was to an immigrant mother, legal and illegal, the highest level in American history," the national survey states. "The enormous number and proportion of children from immigrant families may overwhelm the assimilation process, making it difficult to integrate these new second-generation Americans."

At Napa's Healthy Moms and Babies and at area hospitals, prospective mothers are welcomed regardless of citizenship status.

"We don't ask," said Healthy Moms and Babies case manager Gloria Castañón.

She said if they have a Social Security account, that number is recorded, but it's not required.

As she spoke, a young Hispanic couple exited a nearby office cuddling their son, born just weeks earlier. Both were beaming, prompting Castañón to note, "(the organization's goal) more than anything is making them feel welcome."

Castañón, who prefers being called Chicana because she is of Mexican decent but was born a U.S. citizen, said the agency, located on Pear Tree Lane, prints all brochures in both languages. Classes are "totally accessible," she said, because they use bilingual instructors.

Healthy Moms and Babies offers educational information to prospective parents and parents of newborns.

"We don't do prenatal health," she said, noting Healthy Moms and Babies has no doctors on the staff. But clients are encouraged to seek medical, dental and spousal abuse services available under the same roof at the Napa Valley Vintners Community Health Center.

Castañón estimated 70 percent of all her clients were born in Mexico. All are low income.

30-year trend

The increasing rate of Hispanic births has been dramatic since 1970, according to a survey by CIS. The number of births to illegal aliens has also skyrocketed.

A report by CIS shows 43.1 percent of all Napa County births in 2002 were to immigrants, up from just 5.1 percent in 1970. That ranks Napa County 32nd of all U.S. counties for the rate of newborn Latinos, with Queens, N.Y. leading at 67.7.

The study showed 1,565 babies born to immigrant parents in Napa County in 2002, the most recent year for which this data is available. The report did not specify how many were legally in the country.

By comparison, neighboring Sonoma County, with 36.9 percent, ranked 50th in CIS's list of the 50 U.S. counties with the most births to immigrant parents. Solano County was not listed.

Unlike the large numbers of Hispanic students in area schools, who return to Mexico for up to a month over the Christmas holidays, pregnant Hispanic women remain. "They take their prenatal care very seriously and don't want to interrupt it. They don't want to jeopardize anything," Castañón said from her office on the second floor of the Community Healthy Center.

She said many clients, whether because of their low income status or Hispanic culture, live with several families under one roof. Most take public transportation. "And they are happy," she said.

She estimated up to 90 percent of the pregnant women who visit the clinic do so during their first trimester, and most heard about the service by word of mouth.

While schools this year adjusted their winter break to accommodate the many Mexican families with children enrolled -- a move that sparked protest from many parents of non-Hispanic students -- other agencies have been affected in different ways by Napa's changing demographics.

Police Chief Rich Melton believes his tenure as chief in Los Alamos, N.M., gives him experience in working with Napa's growing Hispanic community. He said the Los Alamos area is tri-cultural: Anglo, Mexican and Native American.

"It's a challenge not only today but also in the future," he said. "Police must have an understanding ... of culture and history."

To meet the challenge, he has actively recruited bilingual officers. Half of the city's six newest cops, hired in July, are fluent in Spanish and English and are bicultural.

"This is a community issue," said Melton, noting public safety involves police, schools, churches and other segments of Napa.

Melton said it is important to keep all children of all ethnicity in school. Single-parent families is another issue he said crosses cultural boundaries.

"Policing is about trust," said Melton.

He said police must be a vital part of the community as a whole, including all of its cultural divisions.

Bilingual hospitals

The need for bilingual employees also extends to most government offices, local businesses and hospitals.

Hispanic births are not tracked at Queen of the Valley Hospital, but spokesman Dante Allen estimated 55 to 60 percent of the births there are to Latino parents.

Does that require any adjustment in policy? "We go back to our mission -- to extend health and quality of life to those we serve," he said. "In the case of Latinos and Hispanics, where it is language or culturally appropriate, we alter (our services) as needed."

At the Family Birth Place at St. Helena Hospital, obstetrics clinic team leader Jan Darter, a registered nurse, said about one third of the babies born there are Hispanic. She said, however, she does not know how many are born to immigrants from Mexico versus Latinos who were born as American citizens.

"It is an issue," she said. "We have to make sure we have someone who can translate. Teaching materials need to be in Spanish."

She also said she finds those parents "more family-oriented. ... I really like taking care of the Hispanic families. I like working with them," she said.

Hospital care for illegal immigrants may not cost hospitals as much as in past years. In May, hospitals and health care providers were told they can charge the federal government for such emergency care. However, Jan Emerson of the California Hospital Association said only $71 million will be available while California's hospitals spend an estimated $500 million a year caring for illegal immigrants.

"That's a guesstimate," she said. "In 2003, hospitals in California provided $5.1 billion in uncompensated care, and our best estimate is that about 10 percent related to undocumented immigrants. Clearly, $71 million will not make a dent in what we spend in California, but we view it as an important first step."

She said the federal government has a responsibility to help pay for care of immigrants, noting, "under federal law, hospitals are mandated to care for anybody who walks into our emergency rooms."

"We've been saying for a decade or more, help us pay," she said.

This is nothing less than colonization of America by a foreign power.

Sweeeet deal for Mexico.

Call and write your congressworm. Ask them when they authorized Mexico to colonize your country . . see what they say.

Make sure you include the following term in your inquiry:

Main Entry: COL·O·NIZE
Pronunciation: 'kä-l&-"nIz
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): -nized; -niz·ing
transitive senses
1 a : to establish a colony in or on or of b : to establish in a colony
2 : to send illegal or irregularly qualified voters into <colonizing doubtful districts>
3 : to infiltrate with usually subversive militants for propaganda and strategy reasons <colonize industries>
intransitive senses : to make or establish a colony : SETTLE
- col·o·niz·er noun

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"Analysis of birth records shows that in 2002 almost one in four births in the United States was to an immigrant mother, legal and illegal, the highest level in American history," the national survey states.
"The enormous number and proportion of children from immigrant families may overwhelm the assimilation process, making it difficult to integrate these new second-generation Americans."

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