By midcentury over one in four U.S. residents will be Hispanic, and the overwhelming majority of these will be of Mexican descent. Since 1960, the nation’s Hispanic population increased nearly ninefold, from 6.3 million (4%) to 55.3 million (17%) in 2014. At the same time the population of whites is declining and will comprise less than 50% of the population by midcentury. This dramatic demographic shift is reshaping politics, culture, and fundamental ideas about American identity.

The surge in immigration since the 1970s has also led to increasing levels of xenophobia resulting in anti-immigrant politics and policies, including militarization of the border, state laws curtailing rights of undocumented immigrants, mass detention and deportation, the building of a 700-mile border fence in 2006, and Donald Trump’s recent promise to build a wall along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico. With over a million U.S.-born Latinos turning 18 years of age every year and therefore eligible to vote, many aging whites wonder if American can ever be “great again.”

Neil Foley is the Robert and Nancy Dedman Endowed Chair in History at Southern Methodist University. 

Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the US Centre at LSE.  

The United States Centre at LSE (@LSE_US) is a hub for global expertise, analysis and commentary on America. Its mission is to promote policy-relevant and internationally-oriented scholarship to meet the growing demand for fresh analysis and critical debate on the United States.   

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