Is Houston a City of the (Demographic) Future?

Demographers often look to the Sun Belt for a window on America's future. Houston, writes Brittny Mejia, is "a city whose stunning growth and high-volume immigration have turned it into the most racially and ethnically diverse major metropolis in the country."

Following Donald Trump's hard line on immigration, "Houston — with a black, Democratic mayor and a powerfully pro-immigrant population — has potentially become one of the battlefronts in Texas over the city's 'don't ask' 'sanctuary policy,' which prohibits police from inquiring about the immigration status of a person who hasn't been arrested."

This has led to tension with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, but Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has made it clear that Houston police won't do ICE's job. Mejia goes on to document the extraordinary diversity of many Houston neighborhoods and schools. 

Readers will be interested to note that despite Houston's auto-centric reputation, "the number of affluent white neighborhoods set off by themselves is far fewer than the number found in Los Angeles, according to research from the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota."