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Tennessee and Blount County saw significant increases in foreign-born population during the first five years of the 21st century, the latest census statistics show.
Nationally, Tennessee had the third-highest increase in the nation of foreign-born population between 2000 and 2005, according to the Migration Policy Institute. During that period, the state’s foreign-born population increased from 156,488 to 223,118 — an increase of 43 percent.

Nearly half of the immigrants coming to Tennessee are from Latin America, and nearly 4,000 Blount County residents now speak a language other than English in their homes.

The Hispanic population in Tennessee grew by 278 percent (from 32,741 to 123,838) between 1990 and 2000, the fourth-highest rate of Hispanic growth in the nation, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics — and nearly four times the average Hispanic growth rate of the rest of the country.

Blount County’s Hispanic population increased 48 percent between 2000 and 2005 from 1,120 to 1,654, according to Census Bureau statistics.

In the local English as a Second Language (ESL) program, which is taught in both the Blount County and Maryville City schools, the number of Spanish-speaking students rose 11 percent in the past nine months (March 2007 to December 2007), according to Jean LaForest, the program’s coordinator.

“There’s obvious growth in Blount County’s Latino community, but the growth is deceiving,” said Tomas Mares, a Blount County resident who is owner of Mares Communications and co-owner of Prime Funding Mortgage with Vickie Reid.

“If the numbers grow from 100 to 300, it doesn’t mean there are 200 new Latinos — it means there are 200 more Latinos who are willing to be counted. Some of these people are just now willing to be counted.”

Immigration affects everything from the local schools to the local economy. In addition to providing a large number of laborers for employers in the farming, construction and hospitality industries, more than 100 Blount County businesses are owned by Hispanic residents, according to the most recent census figures.

As the population in Blount County changes, it appears many local attitudes are changing as well. Brad Shore of Shore Construction says there has been a dramatic shift in the local construction market in the past five years.

“It used to be that we used Hispanic workers for what we called ‘bulk labor’ — things like landscaping and sodding lawns,” Shore said.

“But now, these guys are the artistic craftsmen that everyone wants. They’re admirable people, hard-working and they care about the work they do.
“If you go to the mall or a store, you see our Hispanic families. They’re a solid part of the local middle class.”

Shore, who has been building in Blount County for the past 19 years, says he would estimate that 90 percent of the local construction workers are Hispanic or Latino.
Other builders contacted by The Daily Times said that in some specific trades, including brick masons and structural framers, there is an extremely high percentage of Latino and Hispanic workers, but the percentages for the Blount construction industry as a whole are much lower.

Mares said, however, that some Blount Countians still don’t welcome Hispanics.
“My children have had a very dark, cold experience here in Blount County,” said Mares, a member of the Anti-Racism Task Force and a founder of the Strength in Diversity Group. “I would estimate that roughly 60 percent of our experience has been bad and 40 percent of it has been good.”

He said the Hispanic community is growing in Blount County because of the readily available jobs for immigrants. The mild climate, beautiful scenery and cost of living are “benefits,” according to Mares, but work is the primary draw.

“We need programs that will educate each other about our cultures — it could mend many fences, maybe even eliminate some of the fences,” he said. “I do see some positive things happening here, particularly in the schools. There are people who are trying to make things better.”