Nearly one-fifth of America’s school-age children speak a language other than English at home, says a Census Bureau report that also shows more than 13.3 million immigrants landed in the country between 1990 and 2000.

The numbers reflect youngsters, ages 5 to 17, who receive most of their formal education in English, but speak a second language with their families: they add up to about 9.8 million, or 18 percent of all school-age children, compared with 14 percent in the 1990 census.

Close to seven in 10 of the children speak Spanish at home, the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey found, and two-thirds of that group rated themselves as speaking English very well. Fluency declines as people get older, as only 50 percent of those ages 18 to 64 who speak Spanish at home described themselves as speaking English very well.

The survey revealed there are more than 30.5 million foreign-born Americans, about 11 percent of the country’s household population of 273.4 million. More have come from Mexico than anywhere else. The survey did not offer estimates on the number of undocumented immigrants in America.

Estimates from the wide-ranging nationwide survey being released today come as lawmakers and advocacy groups debate how to shape policy on immigration and bilingual education.

The survey results are in line with earlier estimates of the foreign-born population – one of the fastest-growing groups in the country.

The survey information was gathered independently from the 2000 census and provides estimates of demographic trends expected to be reflected in additional census data due out next year.

The survey also covers topics such as income and poverty, educational attainment, commuting times and fertility. It is not considered a substitute for the official 2000 census figures.

Much of the recent attention on the census from Congress and the White House has focused on figures that showed the Hispanic population grew 58 percent over the 1990s to 35 million. Hispanics now rival non-Hispanic blacks as the nation’s largest minority group.

The new numbers offer more evidence of the diverse makeup of American youngsters and show the need to expand bilingual education programs, said Lisa Navarette of the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy group.

She said the survey also helps dispel the notion that children who speak Spanish at home have difficulty conversing in English.

A critic of bilingual education wondered why more school-age children who speak Spanish did not rate themselves as speaking English very well.

“The figures should be closer to 100 percent,” said Ron Unz, chairman of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based English for the Children, who successfully pushed a California ballot question in 1998 dismantling the state’s bilingual education program.

“If the schools are failing to teach English, that’s a crime,” he said.

Nearly 29 percent of the foreign-born population, or 8.8 million, came from Mexico, the survey estimated.

About 78 percent of Mexico-born immigrants were not citizens, compared with half of those from Asia and 45 percent of the Europe-born.

While the survey did not provide estimates of undocumented immigrants, the Immigration and Naturalization Service places the number of illegal aliens in the country at roughly 7 million, with 5 million entering during the 1990s.

Urban Institute demographer Jeffrey Passel said the illegal immigrant population could be as high as 8.5 million, with at least half coming from Mexico.

The Bush administration is considering whether to give eventual permanent legal status to some undocumented Mexicans in the United States.

“The difference between now and the turn of the 20th century is that there is no foreseeable slowdown in immigration,” Rep. Lamar Smith said last week at a hearing of the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee. Mr. Smith, Texas Republican, is an author of a 1996 law that cracked down on illegal immigrants.

The supplementary survey was distributed to 700,000 households in 1,203 counties nationwide. It was administered at the same time as the 2000 census, but the census provides a broader picture of social trends because it is based upon forms mailed to 120 million households.



Comments are closed.