Making the Change: "Bottlenecks" to Adaptation for New Immigrants

Stephanie A. Bohon, University of Georgia
Jorge Atiles, University of Georgia

Between 1990 and 2000, many southeastern states experienced unprecedented growth in their Latino immigrant populations, offering a unique opportunity for demographers to examine the adaptation process of new immigrants in states previously unaffected by immigration. We questioned whether non-traditional receiving states such as Georgia offer different barriers to adaptation than traditional receiving states such as Florida and California (whose adaptation barriers have been widely researched). To explore this hypothesis, we conducted 68 semi-structured interviews with key informants in six counties throughout Georgia to examine the unmet needs of recent immigrants in the state. We also conducted 13 focus groups with 103 recent Latino immigrants to examine their difficulties in adjusting to life in Georgia. Findings from this study show that new immigrants often face "bottlenecks" - minor difficulties in adjustment that hinder several other aspects of adaptation. In this paper, we explore these bottlenecks (such as lack of transportation) and compare them to adaptation barriers in Florida.