ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of immigrants came to Florida in recent years as immigration surged under former President Joe Biden .

In Orlando, immigrants settled throughout the area. They found work in the booming construction industry, as well as in agriculture, transportation, utilities and manufacturing. Many work in restaurants and hotels and as taxi drivers. Some started their own businesses.

Paola Freites and her husband were drawn to the Orlando area by warm temperatures, a large Latino community and the ease of finding employment and housing. Freites and her husband fled violence in Colombia with their three children. After entering the U.S. in 2024, they moved to Apopka, an agricultural city near Orlando, where they rent a mobile home from her sister-in-law

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