Table 2.

Challenges for migrants in South and Central Florida

Theme	Illustrative Quotations
(1) Housing Costs and Access	*Housing Costs*
	I think that, if in Puerto Rico, they got the news of how Florida really is, then maybe so many people would not have come because they would know the cost of the apartments, and all the problems we’re facing, and the many Puerto Ricans who are out on the street, and how all of this is going. (Central Florida) [Housing] is too expensive. I live in a 1 bedroom. It costs $1100 [per month] …we only get social security. (South Florida) [To secure an apartment] they charged us the rent, two month’s deposit, and 1-month security. So, if the apartment was $1200 or $1300 it was $4000 [total]. (South Florida)
	*Access / Section 8*
	Florida has helped Puerto Rico the least. Boston gave Section 8 [housing] to everyone that came from Puerto Rico. This state is the only one that denied Puerto Ricans [the right] to look for housing like American citizens because this is the position we have. (Central Florida) The thing is, here in Kissimmee there are a lot of Puerto Ricans [for a small city]… if you go to Miami or Tampa, you don’t see so many Puerto Ricans like in Kissimmee. In Orlando they give Section 8, in Tampa they give Section 8, in Miami they give Section 8. It’s just in Kissimmee [where] the population is so big that they can’t give Puerto Ricans Section 8. (Central Florida)
(2) Employment / English Language Limitations	We all understand that we are in another country, but the language and the requirements in the work realm … you have to be fully bilingual, fully, fully, fully, and that is the barrier. (Central Florida) For me, it’s English, that has been a barrier. I am working in home care, but over there I worked in a hospital and all my certifications are advanced… even though I am licensed here in the state of Florida, I don’t have what’s most important in order to work in a hospital [English]. (South Florida)
(3) Education	Here they are giving her a teacher only in English, and the teachers aren’t allowed to speak in Spanish to the students, so when she comes home and I have her do her homework, we look online to find out what it means and I prepare her. But then, when she takes a test, she fails because the test is in English. This creates children who are insecure… I think that’s a failure of the system. (South Florida)
(4) Transportation	*Transportation Challenges*
	With public transportation here, it can take you two hours to get where you want to go. (Central Florida) If you don’t have a way to get around, or you don’t know how to get around, you’re not going to get very far here. (Central Florida) I want to look for a job, but the jobs I found are 15 minutes away [in a car] and paying for an Uber will cost me $16. (South Florida)
	*Registration and Insurance*
	Another thing also is, when you do have a car, the first time you register a car in Florida and insure it, it’s too expensive… I lost a job because of transportation (Central Florida) Since I was 16, I have had a license, but not in Florida…it doesn’t count [So, the insurance goes up because you don’t have experience in Florida]. (Central Florida)
(5) Discrimination	If you know a little [English], you can defend yourself. At least I went to interviews and I characterized myself maybe as bilingual because I speak it [English], I understand, I speak it… [however] I’ve been denied in the interview because … of [my] accent. (Central Florida)
(6) Perceived Lack of Empathy and Impersonal Responses from FEMA	How can FEMA [throw us out of housing] now after 6 months? Maybe extend [the voucher program] until June for people with children in school. (Central Florida) Two days before, they [FEMA] took away the voucher, two days before March 20^th…. when I checked with the hotel, they said that FEMA took away my voucher. I called FEMA, and they said my house is now habitable, and I asked them, “But how? There is no electricity or water.” (Central Florida) I have to pay attention to [my son] 24/7 because he has mental retardation and needs to be supervised… [FEMA doesn’t] understand. They tell me, “Why can’t you work?” And it’s not that I don’t want to, it’s who will watch my son? These are situations where, if I had some family here, then it would be a little easier and I could work in peace. But I don’t have anyone (crying). (Central Florida).
(7) FEMA-Related Uncertainty	FEMA informs you that you have a deadline … for us … they are paying for our hotel. Well, they tell you, “Okay you are extended, but you have this amount of time.” [So] you live day after day, you can call to see if they extend you or not, you understand?... That is an uncertainty… and you live that way, day to day. (Central Florida) [FEMA has] not followed through with us who were real victims from a devastating situation where we were left without homes, without food, without jobs, without health. (Central Florida) The pressure [of not having stable housing] makes us … I know of a suicide case. I know of another one where he wanted to commit suicide… beginning again and having a life like we are thinking of, a near future with new hopes, let’s [make a plan], but that is not now. That does not exist in a group of people living in hotels. (Central Florida)
(8) Balancing Change & Expenses	Coming here, in the area we are in, it is expensive, especially because we have to keep paying the house in Puerto Rico. Maria took everything but the debt. My husband has to work really hard to pay for both sides, and it’s too expensive. (South Florida) Once you move into your own place, your way of thinking changes. You have to start thinking about stretching your dollar. I now have two jobs, a full-time job in an ambulance and a part time job as a paramedic somewhere else … sometimes I come out of a 24-hour shift, go home, sleep 2 hours, and go back to work again. (South Florida)