Jennifer Kho
COSTA MESA -- The city's face is changing.
Latinos, who in 1990 made up 20% of the city's population, made up
31.8% in 2000, according to the 2000 census.
During that time, many of the minority populations have remained
largely the same, including African Americans, Asians and Pacific
Islanders. Both the American Indian and Alaska Native populations have
decreased slightly, and the white population has decreased the most in
percentage, but not in numbers.
Nowhere is the city's growing Latino population more evident than the
Westside, where 44% of the residents are Latino, according to a 1997
survey that contains the latest figure available.
The influx of Latinos on the Westside has become a source of concern
with some who believe many of them are illegal immigrants.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has no hard data to support
or dispute the belief, but Councilman Chris Steel, who ran nine times
unsuccessfully on the theme of stemming illegal immigration, was able to
strike a chord with voters in November and lead the ticket in a field of
11 candidates.
Steel, using the slogan that the city can no longer "'educate,
recreate, medicate, domesticate and compensate noncitizens," called for
the closure of the city's job center and the end to funding for some
charities, which he claims are magnets for illegal immigrants.
Some of Steel's supporters have taken up the theme.
But regardless of the rhetoric aimed at illegal immigrants, Latino
activists say there are reasons why Costa Mesa remains a favorite place
to live.
"People live in Costa Mesa because it is clean and safe," said Paty
Madueno, a Westside resident for more than 20 years. "You can walk on the
streets at 10 p.m. and rental prices have been low, although they are
getting higher. Houses are still affordable in some beautiful places, and
you can build your home here without being stuck with the same color and
architectural design as every other house in the neighborhood, like
Irvine.
"That's why we like Costa Mesa," she continued. "It isn't square; it
adapts to the needs of families. A lot of our families, legal or not, are
day laborers or low-salary workers, and Costa Mesa has a lot of the
businesses that our families work for."
And there is evidence of much more community support than disfavor,
she said.
Community celebrations, such as Cinco de Mayo -- a minor holiday in
Mexico -- and a December commemoration for Our Lady of Guadalupe are
evidence of the growing Latino population, Madueno said.
