HispanicBusiness

A new study from the Pew Hispanic Center is showing that a majority of Hispanic children in the United States have at least one parent who is foreign born.

The study, released today, also concludes that about a quarter of all Hispanic children have at least one parent who is an illegal immigrant.

The phenomenon coincides with a major population boom of Hispanics in the United States since 1980. More than 20 percent of all children in the United States are Hispanic, compared to about 9 percent in 1980. By 2025, the figure is expected to hit 30 percent, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The report shows that 52 percent of the nation's 16 million Hispanic children are "second generation," meaning they were born in the United States to least one foreign-born parent. That's up from 30 percent in 1980.

Relatively unchanged since 1980 is the proportion of Hispanic children -- about one-in-ten -- who are foreign-born themselves, or "first generation" immigrants.

But the major demographic shift in second-generation children could have serious societal ramifications, the report concludes. For one thing, first- and second-generation Hispanic children are more likely than the children of two U.S.-born parents to live in poverty. They are also less likely to have parents who graduated high school and -- predictably -- are less likely to speak fluent English.

However, the report says, first- and second-generation Hispanic children are also less likely than the others to live in single-parent households.

As for legal status, only 7 percent of Hispanic children are considered illegal immigrants, according to the report. This is because children born in the United States are typically considered citizens, regardless of their parents' legal status. But about 4 million of the 16 million Hispanic children have at least one parent who is an illegal immigrant.

The Pew report predicts that another demographic shift is on the horizon. It concludes that the proportion of second-generation Hispanic children will soon peak, while the share of Hispanic children to two U.S. born parents will begin rise in the coming decade.