A study of the growing Hispanic immigrant population declares that the country is on the verge of the "Latinization of the United States," a "browning of America" that by 2050 will be 29 percent Latino — and politically influential.

Published in the authoritative journal " Ethnicities," the immigration analysis by two California experts noted that while big states such as California and Florida are home to most Hispanics, there has been a recent growth surge exceeding 300 percent of mostly Mexicans to Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina and Arkansas.

The analysis is focused on how to economically handle the surge so that Latinos do not get left behind — or out of the middle class. The numbers and characterization of the new immigrants spells out the influence of the Hispanics.

Hispanics are a growing political power. AP Photo

In "Latina/o Formations in the United States," Loyola Marymount University's Antonia Darder and University of California's Rodolfo D. Torres write that already 20 percent of the 30 million youths aged 18-24 in America are Latino and are poised to influence American politics and policy.

"By the sheer force of numbers, the kinds of adults that Latino students become will dramatically shape the future history of this country, as the former white majority becomes a minority population, at least in terms of number," said the study provided to Secrets. It sits behind a paywall.

"Latinos have become more than an electoral voting bloc, emerging as strategic actors in major processes of democratic social transformation," they added.

And they warned that there could be a backlash as whites try to hang on to power.

"In fact, the current struggle that persists in Arizona may well be a bellwether for the potential backlash that is bound to ensue in others parts of the nation, as the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant population no longer enjoys the political security associated with their past majority status," said the authors.

"Over the past four decades, Latinos in the United States have emerged as strategic actors in this process of socio economic transformation. This so-called Latinization of the United States comes at a time of increasing social polarization and class inequalities. These forces assert themselves economically, demographically, culturally and politically in the workplaces and in Latino everyday life," added their analysis.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com.