DALTON, Ga. (AP) — The feeling that the town is emptying out
coupled with a lack of jobs are pushing people such as Jesus
Saldana to seriously consider relocating, even if it means leaving
the place they’ve called home for years.

“There used to be a lot of things going on and there used to be
jobs, now there are none,” said the 24-year-old California native,
who moved to Dalton when he was 16.

“You used to see people, cars coming up and down the street.
Even on the weekend there’s no people on the streets,” he said,
standing across from his friend’s home in the Walnut Creek
Apartments complex, off Fourth Avenue.

Out of more than 30 units, only about 10 are occupied, he said.
A sign that reads “Apartment numbers 1 thru 16 available to rent”
at a complex across the street shows other apartments suffering the
same fate.

There’s anecdotal evidence that people, especially Hispanics,
are leaving the Dalton area, although no one knows for sure how
many.

“We’ve had a sharp downturn in the economy, as everybody is
facing at the moment,” said Dalton Mayor David Pennington. “What is
somewhat different here is that recent immigrants, Latinos for the
most part, came here for jobs, established here, and when the
layoffs started, what we’ve seen is that many have left.”

The unemployment rate in the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical
area — which includes Murray and Whitfield counties — decreased to
12.6 percent in March, down from 13 percent in January, but it
remains among the highest in Georgia.

Nationwide, there’s been a decrease in the number of
unauthorized immigrants, according to the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security and the Pew Hispanic Center. Between January 2007
and January 2009, the number of illegal immigrants decreased by 1
million, from 11.8 million to 10.8 million.

In Georgia, the number of illegal immigrants has fluctuated. It
went down from 490,000 in 2007 to 460,000 in 2008 and increased to
480,000 in 2009, according the Department of Homeland Security.

Most experts agree that the recession is closely linked to the
declining number of illegal immigrants, especially since many of
the job losses are in the construction industry, typically a place
of employment for those who have recently arrived.

In Dalton, the main factor has been the slowdown in the carpet
industry — in which several of the largest floorcovering
manufacturers either close plants or layoff employees — and tougher
enforcement of immigration laws, according to area residents.

___

EMPTY HOUSES

A drive through the streets of Dalton, primarily the east side
of town — where many Hispanic immigrants reside — shows an area in
decline. “For Sale” signs are plentiful on homes, but not as
numerous as “For Rent” signs on large and small apartment buildings
and homes.

A vacant house sits across Ashworth Avenue from the home of the
Hernandez family, who says the owner couldn’t afford her mortgage
anymore, so she simply left.

“She used all her income tax (return) last year to save her
home, but in the end she couldn’t make the payments,” said Maria
Hernandez.

Maria and her husband, Gustavo, bought their house seven years
ago, when they were both working 60 hours a week at local carpet
factories. Now they only work a couple of days a week and have
tried to sell their home for more than a year with no success.

Their desperation has reached the point where she’s considering
returning to Mexico, even though they’re in the country
legally.

“My brother died last year and we couldn’t even go because we
had no money,” said the mother of four children, ages 18, 16, 11
and 4.

“My mother is sick right now and I can’t go see her or send her
money,” she added.

But Mr. Pennington believes those who were going to leave have
already left.

“A large number of people who probably left are undocumented,
they couldn’t sign up for any benefits or services, so they were
the first to leave,” he said. “Those who bought houses here, were
born here, are solidly established here, they are not going
anywhere.”

___

INDICATORS

For the Dalton area, Whitfield and Murray counties, the number
of residential foreclosures more than doubled from three years
ago.

From May 2007 through November 2007, there were 123 foreclosures
filed, according to Gaile Jennings, executive director of the
Dalton-Whitfield Community Development Corp. From October 2009 to
March 2010, there were 470, she said.

“Prior to those six months (in 2007), we would have like five a
year,” she said. “I was shocked and scared seeing the trend then,
now look where we are.”

And she believes it will still be a while before the housing
market stabilizes in Northwest Georgia.

An offbeat indicator that Dalton has lost residents is the
amount of garbage collected.

“This is sort of a strange economic indicator, but from 2007
through last year, we’ve picked up 18 percent less tonnage of
residential garbage (than) we did two years ago, which tells us
that a lot of people have left,” said Mr. Pennington.

At its high point, Dalton had close to 50,000 people, he said;
now it’s probably around 40,000. As a result of a large number of
people leaving, Mr. Pennington said retail sales are not as strong
as before, so the city has lost tax dollars.

“A lot of people have left to other states like Texas or
California, where they have relatives,” said the Rev. Juan de Dios
Oliveros, one of two priests at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, which
has a large Hispanic congregation.

Mass attendance decreased about 20 percent since 2008, he said,
when there would be more than 200 people standing during Mass
because there was no more room to sit.

“There’s also been a lot of deportations of the mom or dad and
the whole family leaves,” he added.

At Dalton State College, the percentage of Hispanic students
decreased from 11 percent to 9 percent, about 50 students between
2008 and 2009, said Dr. Don Davis, sociology professor at Dalton
State College.

“Some of them could have left because of a Georgia law that
requires students to pay out-of-state tuition if they are
undocumented,” he said. “But some of it could also be as a result
of an outmigration.”

But student enrollment at the K-12 level continues to increase,
and Mr. Pennington believes one reason may be that the breadwinner
of the family is leaving to find work elsewhere, while the wife and
children are staying.

The number of Hispanic students in both local districts —
Whitfield County Schools and Dalton City Schools — has remained
about 4,000 since 2006, according to data from the state report
card.

The number of confirmations and first holy communions at St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church almost doubled from 2005 to 2009, said the
Rev. Paul Williams.

“To me that’s an indication of families who can be here on a
two-year commitment and they intend to be here for a long time,” he
said.