The large and growing Hispanic population in the United States is rapidly changing the ethnic composition of the country. In 1982 there were close to 16 million Hispanics in the United States and, according to U.S. census projections, 16 million more Hispanics are expected to join the U.S. population by 2010, raising the total Hispanic population to 31 million. In addition, legalization provisions contained in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 could eventually grant amnesty to close to two million undocumented immigrants, more than 70% of whom are of Mexican origin. In light of their growing presence, Hispanics have the potential to become a politically powerful and influential force in American politics. This paper focuses on the process of political adaptation by the U.S. Hispanic population. The paper assumes that it is possible to construct objective indicators to measure the degree of political integration. Much of the available evidence suggests that Hispanics have not been successful in mobilizing a substantial proportion of their population into political activity. For example, data from the 1980 census reveal that the failure to naturalize is most pronounced among Hispanic immigrants. Furthermore, Mexican-Americans are found to register and vote less than Blacks or Whites even after controlling for citizenship and age. The future potential of Hispanics in the American political arena, however, is more difficult to estimate. It is important to know the degree of political activity among Hispanics and which factors have facilitated or retarded this progress. Additional research could uncover such factors. (TES)