‘80s Saw a Boom in O.C. Viet Populace : Census: Figure of nearly 72,000 is more than triple the number counted in 1980. But civic and community leaders see ‘a gross undercount.’

A new report by the U.S. Census Bureau says the Vietnamese population in Orange County more than tripled during the 1980s, to 71,822, but community leaders described that as “a gross undercount.”

Previous unofficial estimates had tagged the county’s Vietnamese population at about 100,000, while the census figures released Thursday set that number considerably lower.

The latest report also shows that the Hispanic population likewise surged during the last decade, with the number of people of Mexican origin increasing by 104%.

The most controversial count, however, involved the Vietnamese, a number both civic and community leaders questioned.

“I can’t believe that,” said Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith. “That’s a big undercount. It’s just not true.”

Ky Ngo, chairman of the Vietnamese-American Political Action Committee, agreed. “That’s only half of us,” he said. “We know that there are at least 120,000 Vietnamese here. They all want to come to California, and for many of them Orange County is a second Vietnam.”

Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, about 1 million Vietnamese have immigrated to the United States, with 280,223 making their homes in California, according to the latest census figures. Most of the Vietnamese refugees who moved to Orange County have settled in so-called Little Saigon, a district located within the boundaries of Westminster and Garden Grove.

The Census Bureau said that an additional 52,489 Vietnamese moved to Orange County during the last decade--representing a 271% increase.

To try to ensure that new immigrants were counted, the bureau set up a toll-free telephone network where Vietnamese and other immigrants could call and ask questions in their native tongues.

Counselors who manned the hot lines reported that many immigrants did not know the purpose of the census and had thrown the census forms away, assuming that the government documents were junk mail. Smith said Thursday night that Westminster would challenge the report, noting that the city and school district would receive smaller allocations of state funds because of the lower figures.

“From the figures we pulled from the schools, we know that at least 25% of the 78,000 people in Westminister are Vietnamese-Americans,” Smith said. “We just cannot allow the census figures to go unchallenged.”

Ngo, who was a delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention, said the “undercount” would discourage Vietnamese activists who plan to contest city council races.

“The report is not good for the Vietnamese community,” Ngo said. “We wanted to show that we had a voice. If we were not correctly counted, the activists would not be encouraged because they would feel they wouldn’t get the support.”

Both Smith and Ngo said they believed the undercount could be attributed to “cultural differences.”

Ngo said census officials were late in distributing census forms in Vietnamese, and that the Vietnamese were generally skeptical about the census itself.

“Many of them did not know that the information was confidential,” Ngo said. “The census people have to work with the community and activists to (allay) those fears.”

The latest census report also showed significant increases in the numbers of other Asians in Orange County. The Korean population was counted at 35,919 compared to 11,339 in 1980. The number of Chinese also swelled, from 14,210 to 41,403.

The large single minority group, however, remained Hispanics, with Mexican-Americans comprising more than 75% of the total Latino population. The county’s Mexican population increased to 474,818 from 232,472 in 1980--a 104% increase.

Overall, the numbers of Hispanics increased by 97% to 564,828.

O.C. Racial And Ethnic Population

The Census Bureau this week released 1990 Census information, broken down by certain racial and ethnic groups. Listed below are the countywide population numbers released for Orange County.

(Ranked by 1990 Population) % Change Category 1990 1980 Since ’80 RACIAL White 1,894,593 1,669,314 +13 Vietnamese 71,822 19,333 +271 Black 42,681 25,287 +69 Chinese 41,403 14,210 +191 Korean 35,919 11,339 +217 Filipino 30,356 10,934 +178 Japanese 29,704 20,886 +42 Asian Indian 15,212 4,972 +206 American Indian 11,834 12,782 -7 Other Asian 6,613 NA NA Cambodian 3,979 NA NA Hawaiian 3,166 2,248 +41 Samoan 2,979 2,008 +48 Laotian 2,893 NA NA Thai 2,227 NA NA Guamanian 1,406 963 +46 Hmong 575 NA NA Tongan 345 NA NA Other Micronesian 247 NA NA Aleut 177 64 +177 Eskimo 154 105 +47 Other Polynesian 148 NA NA Pacific Islander, not specified 119 NA NA Melanesian 79 NA NA Other races 211,925 NA NA ETHNIC Non-Hispanic 1,845,728 1,646,370 +12 Total Hispanic 564,828 286,339 +97 Mexican 474,818 232,472 +104 Other Hispanic 76,229 43,313 +76 Puerto Rican 7,773 5,734 +36 Cuban 6,008 4,820 +25 TOTALS 2,410,556 1,932,709 +25

NA Not available

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census Compiled by Richard O’Reilly, director of computer analysis, and Maureen Lyons, statistical analyst, Los Angeles Times