Legal taxis ferry illegal immigrants to work in Georgia
A crackdown in Gainesville means driving without a license can lead to deportation, so many use a 'taxista' — or simply move away.
By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times

August 11, 2011

Reporting from Gainesville, Ga. — Jose Luis Diaz maneuvered his big green-and-white taxi through the predawn darkness, windows shut to the crowing of roosters and the stench of the chicken plants, toward the home of Mateo, an illegal immigrant waiting to be chauffeured to work.

For Mateo -- a stocky, tattooed employee of a tree-trimming service -- the ride was no luxury. It was a necessity.

“Buenos dÃ*as,â€