'Married to the state'
Despite the strong family support, the prevalence of single parenting among Hispanics is producing the inevitable slide into the welfare system. "The girls aren't marrying the guys, so they are married to the state," Dr. Sanchez observes. Hispanics now dominate the federal Women, Infants and Children free food program; Hispanic enrollment grew more than 25 percent from 1996 to 2002, while black enrollment dropped 12 percent and white enrollment dropped 6.5 percent.
Hispanics, 1 percent of the population in 1950, are now 14.4 percent. Their total number has soared 25 percent since 2000 alone. Half the children 5 and younger in the United States are now minorities. Demography is destiny.