In our reporting of the Immigration Debates of the 1990s in the Winter 1990-1991 issue of The Social Contract we made an error that needs correcting. We said that in his presentation Dr. Otis L. Graham, Jr. pointed toward a population of 500 million Americans by the year 2020 if the present California fertility rate of 2.3 children per woman were projected nation-wide.

Actually, the population of the US would be 500 million by the year 2050 if the California fertility rate pertained to the nation as a whole. It is also true that the population of California is projected to be 50 million by 2020.

We are informed by Dr. Leon Bouvier that the most recent figures released by the Demographic Unit of the California Department of Finance indicate the state's fertility rate is up to 2.5 in 1989. Dr. Bouvier went on to say, What appears to be a significant gain in overall fertility is explained, at least in part, by the fact that California's Hispanic minority increased its share of the population and increased its fertility more than any other group.