WASHINGTON - If it weren't for Hispanic births, the U.S. could be confronting long-term population declines similar to those in Germany, Japan and other industrialized countries.

Hispanics are the only ethnic group now producing more than two children per family, according to a Census Bureau report released Monday. That is the number necessary to replace the mother and father and keep the population stable.

"The Hispanic population is growing; Whites and Asians are not replacing themselves,"MORE