What Bohon and Atiles have found so far is that housing and transportation are by far the largest issues facing the new immigrants to the state. Some small houses hold as many as six families, and the researchers found that structural and sanitary problems were common. While substandard housing is a pervasive problem, many of the Latinos who live in such houses are afraid to speak out because of problems with their immigration status or because they don't understand their rights as tenants and fear eviction. There have, however, been major efforts, especially in the Dalton and Gainesville areas, to solve housing problems and to respond to the needs of the immigrants. Programs in those areas have made significant differences in the difficulties the Latinos face, says Atiles.
Transportation also remains an intractable problem.
Few Latino workers and families can afford cars and, except in major metropolitan areas, public transportation is scanty or non-existent. Other problems identified in the study include the language barrier and difficulties with access to health care and education. School drop-out rates also plague Latino families, and children of undocumented workers have an especially hard time, as they move often. Some 33 percent of the schoolchildren in Hall County are of Latino descent. Perceptions of Latino crime are also exaggerated, Bohon says.