Latinos are Oklahoma's new natives

STORY HIGHLIGHTSCensus: Oklahoma's Hispanic population has nearly doubled in last 10 yearsLatinos account for 9% of Oklahoma's 3.8 million residentsSince 2000, the Hispanic population has grown 85% Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Marcelino Garcia's three-decade journey from illegal immigrant to successful businessman has unfolded against an unlikely backdrop -- the deeply conservative state of Oklahoma.

State leaders here have passed some of the country's strictest immigration laws, including some that go beyond the controversial measures approved in Arizona last year. Latino activists said Oklahoma's laws drove tens of thousands of Hispanic immigrants away, although an exact number is difficult to calculate.

But that makes the newest U.S. Census figures even more remarkable: Oklahoma's Hispanic population has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, from 179,000 to more than 332,000.

Illegal immigrant population levels off, study says

Latinos now account for 9% of Oklahoma's 3.8 million residents, and are the largest minority group, surpassing the number of Native Americans, who make up about 8.5% of the population. While Oklahoma's population grew about 9% since 2000, the Hispanic population grew 85% and accounted for about half the state's overall growth.

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