This is an abridged version of the book “Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos – Meio Século (re)fazendo a América (1960-2010) written by Alvaro Eduardo de Castro e Lima and Alanni de Lacerda Barbosa de Castro and published by Alexandre Gusmão Foundation – Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Brazil – 2017.

1. F������� A�������� �� G�����
xxx
www.funag.gov.br
BRASILEIROSNOSESTADOSUNIDOS
1
MEIO SÉCULO (RE)FAZENDO A AMÉRICA
Álvaro de C. e Lima
Alvaro de Castro e
Lima, nascido em
São Luís do Maran-
hão é Diretor de
Pesquisas na
Boston Planning & Development
Agency (BPDA). Economista por
treino com mestrado na New
School for Social Research em
Nova York, foi Diretor do
Ministério da Indústria e Energia
de Moçambique e Coodenador
de Projetos de Desenvolvimento
Regional do IPARDES, no Brasil.
Em Boston, foi ainda Diretor de
Desenvolvimento Econômico
da Urban Edge, uma organi-
zação de desenvolvimento
comunitário. Exerceu também o
cargo de Senior Vice-Presidente,
e Diretor de Pesquisas da
Initiative for Competitive Inner
City (ICIC), uma organização
criada pelo Professor Michael
Porter da Universidade de
Harvard.
Alanni de L. B. de C.
Alanni de Lacerda
Barbosa de Castro,
filha de Cordisbur-
go em Minas
Gerais, é autora do
Livro Remessas – um balanço
do projeto e da história de
imigrantes brasileiros nos
Estados Unidos. Administradora
com experiência em Migração e
Educação Financeira, possui
mestrado em administração,
com ênfase em Estratégia e
Análise de Redes pela PUC
MINAS e especializações em
Cooperativismo e, também,
Projetos (Fundação Dom
Cabral). É Analista da Unidade de
Educação e Empreendedorismo
do SEBRAE-MG, coordenou
projeto de capacitação
empreendedora e financeira
para imigrantes, emigrantes e
beneficiários de remessas,
atuando, ainda, como palestran-
te em eventos relacionados à
migração no Brasil e no exterior.
BRASILEIROS
N O S E S TA D O S U N I D O S
RE
BRASILEIROS
1960 - 2010( )
Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos - Meio Século
(re)fazendo a América apresenta análises, até então
não publicadas, além da organização de dados
produzidos ao longo do período, a respeito desse
importante movimento migratório. Nesta publicação,
o balanço da imigração brasileira nos Estados Unidos
se dá através do criterioso olhar dos autores, que
buscaram analisar fatores de influência, características
dos imigrantes brasileiros e seus impactos socioeco-
nômicos, tanto para as regiões emissoras, quanto
para aquelas que os recebem. O caráter transnacional
da migração é discutido à luz das características desse
fenômeno social, que durante meio século se fez e se
(re)faz entre o Brasil e os Estados Unidos. As variáveis
do retorno compõem mais um aspecto que, da
mesma forma, são ampla-mente abordadas.
Com uma visão analítica, mas também vivencial, este
livro se propõe a contribuir para a compreensão do
fenômeno migratório, em direção a políticas e ações de
apoio aos imigrantes brasileiros nos Estados Unidos e
no mundo. Além de dados e informações provenientes
de pesquisas de campo e bibliográficas, o livro
Brasilei-ros nos Estados Unidos - Meio Século
(re)fazendo a América traz, sobretudo, uma vasta
bagagem a respeito desta travessia.
Álvaro Eduardo de Castro e Lima
Alanni de Lacerda Barbosa de Castro
ÁlvaroEduardodeCastroeLima
AlannideLacerdaBarbosadeCastro
BRASILEIROS
NOS ESTADOS UNIDOS
Meio século (re)fazendo a América
(1960 – 2010)
Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos - Meio Século (re)fazendo a
América apresenta análises, até então não publicadas, além
da organização de dados produzidos ao longo do período,
a respeito desse importante movimento migratório. Nesta
publicação, o balanço da imigração brasileira nos Estados
Unidos se dá através do criterioso olhar dos autores, que
buscaram analisar fatores de influência, características dos
imigrantes brasileiros e seus impactos socioeconômicos,
tanto para as regiões emissoras, quanto para aquelas que os
recebem. O caráter transnacional da migração é discutido à luz
das características desse fenômeno social, que durante meio
século se fez e se (re)faz entre o Brasil e os Estados Unidos.
As variáveis do retorno compõem mais um aspecto que, da
mesma forma, são amplamente abordadas.
Com uma visão analítica, mas também vivencial, este livro
se propõe a contribuir para a compreensão do fenômeno
migratório, em direção a políticas e ações de apoio aos
imigrantes brasileiros nos Estados Unidos e no mundo. Além
de dados e informações provenientes de pesquisas de campo
e bibliográficas, o livro Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos - Meio
Século (re)fazendo a América traz, sobretudo, uma vasta
bagagem a respeito desta travessia.
Bis dolorrovid ut quasimilit am int debist,
quis miliquiam am nati illabo. Porro
doluptat.
Num nos rehendi rendam quam quae sa
nem in reic torehenim hit maximin natiur
autatus inveresed que sequam, vendignis
ne sum dolo optibus sunt quodis nus repe
coris essequi repra voluptat unt at verae
eos esci duciis voluptatat dollam quo et et
quia nissin renditatur antis erion comnis a
pedi beatemp oratquiae. Solupta nis aut
alic tem repreri autessit adiantotatum
earum aliquos voluptat.
Ugiam que nonseri busanim non reni
doloria nos am, volupis es voluptas aut
earupta venda quia asperumet dolorro
cullab idiatis et est pelles rempore strum,
cuptaque molupti andaece rspidel ecerspe
llorestias simi, quis dolore ernam, que nos
ma corrovid quatem eos sit officia conecta
nostio beaturionet pre, as que porende
rcientium quid endenit laut ut ipicitate
Bis dolorrovid ut quasimilit am int debist,
quis miliquiam am nati illabo. Porro
doluptat.
Num nos rehendi rendam quam quae sa
nem in reic torehenim hit maximin natiur
autatus inveresed que sequam, vendignis
ne sum dolo optibus sunt quodis nus repe
coris essequi repra voluptat unt at verae
eos esci duciis voluptatat dollam quo et et
quia nissin renditatur antis erion comnis a
pedi beatemp oratquiae. Solupta nis aut
alic tem repreri autessit adiantotatum
earum aliquos voluptat.
Ugiam que nonseri busanim non reni
doloria nos am, volupis es voluptas aut
earupta venda quia asperumet dolorro
cullab idiatis et est pelles rempore strum,
cuptaque molupti andaece rspidel ecerspe
llorestias simi, quis dolore ernam, que nos
ma corrovid quatem eos sit officia conecta
nostio beaturionet pre, as que porende
rcientium quid endenit laut ut ipicitate

2. 1
Brazilians in the United States – Half a Century (re)making America (1960-2010)
This is an abridged version of the book “Brasileiros nos Estados Unidos – Meio Século
(re)fazendo a América (1960-2010) written by Alvaro Eduardo de Castro e Lima and
Alanni de Lacerda Barbosa de Castro and published by Alexandre Gusmão Foundation –
Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Brazil – 2017.
To download the book in Portuguese: http://ow.ly/krI630du5Um
I. Introduction
Throughout its history, Brazil has welcomed immigrants from various parts of the world.
From 1822 to 1949, the country received about 5 million immigrants, mainly Italians,
Portuguese and Spaniards, as well as Germans, Japanese, Polish and Syrian-
Lebanese. One can divide this flow into three large migratory currents during four
different periods.
After this first wave of immigration, between 1953 and 1960, there was significant
immigration of Spaniards, Greeks and Syrian-Lebanese. After these large migratory
flows the country "closed", maintaining a net flow near to zero in the period between the
postwar and the 1980s. After a long period of migratory stability, in the 1980s, Brazil
experienced, a negative change in its migration flows for the first time. This does not
mean, however, that the country has stopped receiving immigrants. From the 1990s
onwards, many Korean and Latin American immigrants arrived in the country.
Finally, Brazil has seen a recent influx of migrants mainly from Bolivia, Haiti, Angola,
Senegal, Ghana, Portugal and Spain.
Brazilian emigration began in the 1960s and grew steeply throughout the 1980s. The
1990s represented a relative stable period, with a decline in outflows. The Brazilian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that, in 2014, there were about 3.1 million
Brazilians living abroad, with 1.3 million in the United States.
Unlike many other groups, Brazilian immigrants are not fleeing absolute poverty or civil
wars. Nor are they political refugees seeking asylum. Most of them come from urban
areas and from the middle and lower middle classes, with many having college
education. The exception applies only to the agricultural workers and the miners who
left for the frontier regions of Brazil.
Brazilian immigrants, particularly those who emigrated in the 1980s, largely escaped the
economic crisis that has plagued the country, making it impossible for the middle class
to maintain its standard of living.

3. 2
This period, known as the "lost decade", in addition to being characterized by
hyperinflation, was marked by high unemployment, low wages, high cost of living, and
economic recession. This drastic economic situation can be exemplified by the fact that
Brazil experienced four currencies, five freezes of wages and prices, and nine programs
of economic stabilization in that period.
Seeking to contribute to the understanding of this migratory flow, this book compiles
several data sets produced in the last five decades on Brazilian emigration to the United
States, their motivations, composition, geographic distribution, and their contributions to
the countries of origin and destination.
II. The Reasons for Migration and the Role of Social Networks
The history of five decades of Brazilian immigration to the United States shows that the
reasons contributing to emigration are many and complex. These motivations go
beyond simple financial incentive, however. In addition to the economic motivations that
lead so many people to live and work in another country, there are also psychological,
cultural, and other factors related to their social networks that contribute to this impetus.
Many studies confirm that, for the majority of the migrant populations, motivations to live
in another country center around the search for a better life, both for themselves and for
their families. Indeed, for 48% of Brazilian immigrants surveyed in the United States in
2008 by Synovate Brasil, this was the most significant motivation for emigration.
The existence of social networks between Brazilian immigrants in the United States and
Brazil can be traced to the 1940s when the first migrants from the Brazilian State of
Minas Gerais came to live in Massachusetts. In this context, an emigration flow began
in the 1960s, which intensified in the 70s and consolidated the migratory phenomenon
in the collective imaginary and culture of the region.
III. The Transnational Character of Migration – Living Here and There
Migration increasingly assumes a transnational character; that is, increasingly,
immigrants maintain economic, social and political relations with their countries of origin
and with each other in different countries. These relationships are not only economic,
for example, remittances, but also by social remittances, as ideas, behaviors and values
move in a constant coming and going, challenging notions of borders and rigid national
cultures.1
1
According to Peggy Levitt, "the assumption that people live their lives in one place, according to one set
of national and cultural norms, in countries with impermeable national borders, no longer holds." Levitt P.,
(2001).

4. 3
A 2007 survey2
found that, among Brazilians living in Massachusetts, remittances were
only the tip of the transnational iceberg. Almost two-thirds of the respondents indicated
that, in addition to sending monthly remittances to their families, they called home two to
three times a week. Most watched television or radio programs produced in Brazil and
about three out of four sent and received e-mails from their relatives, partners and
friends. Almost half consumed products imported from Brazil, more than a quarter had
savings in Brazil and about 7% had real estate loans. In addition, one-third of
respondents reported sending money to their families for payment of real estate loans,
student loans, pensions or other investments. These transnational relations do not
occur only with middle and upper-class Brazilian, as the study showed that almost two-
thirds of Brazilians interviewed earned less than US $ 35,000 a year.3
As transnationals, immigrants engage in cross-border activities, building "social fields" -
relatively stable, durable, and densely interconnected - that link their home countries
with their receiving countries. These connections are structured through the circulation
of ideas, information, products and money, added to the movement of people. At any
moment immigrants are firmly settled in a place - Boston or London, for example - but
their daily lives are commonly linked, intertwined, and dependent on people and
resources located elsewhere.
Using the framework of "5 Ts" developed by Manuel Orozco (2005), research
conducted by the same author with Latin American and Caribbean immigrants, and data
from the survey of Brazilian immigrants in Lima and Plastrik (2007), an index of
transnationality was developed, which is to say, an index of engagement in
transnational activities. This index helps measure and compare the degree of
transnationality between groups.4
The "5 Ts" framework measures the participation of immigrants in five transnational
activities: (1) Transportation - air travel as a form of communication between immigrants
and their families; (2) Tourism - economic activities of immigrants when in their
countries of origin; (3) Telecommunications - phone calls from immigrants to their
families, friends and associates in their countries of origin; (4) Transfer of Money and
Capital - economic activities that take the form of remittances and (5) Nostalgic Trade -
products from countries of origin supplied to immigrants by local companies. In addition
to these five elements of transnational life, resources sent by immigrants to
associations, mostly philanthropic, in their home towns (Philanthropic Transfers) were
also considered.
2
Lima, Alvaro and Pete Plastrik (2007).
3
The median household income in Boston was $ 58,263 in 2015, the poverty line for a family of four
estimated at $ 24,250.
4
Lima, Alvaro; Garcia-Zanello, Eugenia and Orozco, Manuel, (2008).

5. 4
Brazilian immigrants display a degree of transnationalism slightly lower than that of
other Latin American and Caribbean immigrants. While 15.8% of the latter had a score
of 1 on a scale of engagement of 1 to 45
, most Brazilians (54.4%) had this score,
indicating a low degree of involvement in transnational activities. On the other hand,
13.6% of respondents participated in all transnational activities mentioned above (score
4), while only 0.4% of Brazilians had this level of participation.
The difference between Brazilians and other Latin American and Caribbean immigrants
may be explained by the greater number of undocumented migrants among Brazilians,
which makes it difficult to travel to the country of origin (Transportation and Tourism).
However, scores amongst Brazilian immigrants for Telecommunications, Transfer of
Money and Capital, Nostalgic Trade and Philanthropic Transfers are equal or, in some
cases, higher than those of the other groups.
Finally, it is worth stressing the role of governments in reinforcing these transnational
relations. The Brazilian government for example, through institutional partnerships,
fostered a series of projects with the objective of training Brazilian emigrants and the
recipients of their monetary remittances back in Brazil. Initially Japan, later the United
States and, more recently, Europe, received managerial and entrepreneurial training
intended for Brazilians living in these regions.
This process also included the establishment of an institutionalized channel of dialogue
between the Brazilian government and Brazilian leaders abroad via the establishment of
the Council of Representatives of Brazilians Abroad.6
The Council is organized
regionally and by thematic groups (culture, education, entrepreneurship, etc.) brought
together during an Annual Conference where these themes are discussed and
members agreed upon an action agenda. These documents can be found on the site
www.brasileirosnomundo.itamaraty.gov.br.
IV. The Brazilian Immigration in the World
The 1960s were for Brazil a period of political uncertainties and economic oscillations.
At the same time as the military took over the country (1964), the economy during this
period experienced high growth rates. From 1962 to 1967 the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of Brazil grew 3.2%; 10% from 1967 to 1970; 12.4% from 1970 to 1973 and, from
1973 to 1976, the Brazilian GDP grew 8.3%. The rapid growth of GDP, especially in
relation to the industrial sector, was accompanied by major economic and social
changes.
5
A score of 0 corresponds to no participation in any of these activities while a score of 4 indicates
participation in all activities.
6
Conselho de Representantes Brasileiros no Exterior (CRBE).

6. 5
Beginning in 1979, the Brazilian economy started to feel the impact of the increase in
international interest rates and the second oil shock. In the same year, a currency
devaluation took place, causing an increase in the inflation rate, which surpassed 50%
per year, surpassing three-digits by the end of that year. In the early 1980s the country
went through a deep economic recession marked by high unemployment rates that
extended into end of the decade. During this period and the beginning of the 1990s,
there was a great reduction of jobs in the formal economy and a growth of informal
work. Coupled with this scenario of unemployment and the precariousness of work, an
inflationary process began again in 1990, reaching 1,795% per year. Finally, the
economic reforms of President Fernando Collor de Mello brought more disenchantment
than results, especially for the middle class.
These crises, combined with the impact of the restructuring of the world economy,
deeply affected the Brazilian labor market in the 1990s and caused a drop in social
mobility in Brazil. Between 1990 and 1992 there was a 19% reduction in the level of
formal employment and an increase in self-employment and domestic work. Internal
migration, which had always absorbed much of the excess labor from various regions of
the country, no longer guaranteed social mobility.7
This context induced a significant
portion of the middle class, especially the young, to seek new opportunities by
emigrating to the United States, Europe and Japan.
In a survey carried out by the company Synovate in 2007, 77% of Brazilian immigrants
interviewed pointed out the following reasons for emigration: 55% responded that they
emigrated to "search for a better life"; 12% said they had emigrated to "start a new life";
6% after a "better education for their children" and 4% "to escape violence". Only 24%
emigrated for employment-related issues. Of these, some replied that they were in the
"pursuit of a higher salary" (11%) and others in search of "employment" (10%). A year
later, the same company carried out another survey confirming the same reasons for
emigration.
It is also important to call attention to two phenomena, unfolding at the same historical
moment: on the one hand, the restructuring of the productive systems of advanced
economies increased the demand for highly qualified and well paid workers while, on
the other hand, demand for low skilled and paid manual workers also grew. In this way,
there was a bifurcation in the employment structure of advanced economies in terms of
salary, working conditions, security and stability. It is in this context, that Brazilians trade
a prestigious job in Brazil for a job that pays more abroad. Brazilian immigrants,
although inserted in the informal labor market of the destination countries, earn incomes
about three to four times higher than those that would be paid in Brazil. As Teresa Sales
(1998) stated, this is a “truncated mobility”, since it usually means the exchange of
status for the greater consumption.
In the 1980s, most Brazilian immigrants came from the Southeast and South regions of
7
Patarra and Baeninger (1995).

7. 6
Brazil, representing approximately 90% of this flow. In the 1990s, it fell to approximately
79%. This decline was due to the significant increase in emigration from the North to the
French Guiana, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana and Suriname, and a significant increase in
emigration from the Northeast region of Brazil to Europe and the United States. In
addition, emigration to the United States has become more diversified, including new
regions of origin, such as Goiás and several states in the Northeast. Finally, in the mid-
1990s, the flow from São Paulo to Japan increased, with the emigration of the
dekasseguis.8
Recently, almost all Brazilian states participate in the migratory flow. According to the
Brazilian Census of 2010, the Southeast region contributed with 49% of this flow,
followed by the South region with about 17%, the Northeast region with 15% and the
Central-West and North regions with 12% and 7%, respectively. Together, the states of
São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia represent 67% of
the Brazilian migratory flow.
In 2010, of the 193 countries of residence of Brazilians, 25 of them accounted for 94%
of the total population. The main destination countries are the United States (24%),
whose flow comes mostly from Minas Gerais (43%), Rio de Janeiro (31%), Goiás
(23%), São Paulo (20%) and Paraná (17%) - followed by Portugal (13%), a second
destination for migrants from Minas Gerais (21%) and Rio de Janeiro (9%). Spain (9%),
Japan (7%), Italy (7%) and England (6%) represent the other countries with the highest
concentration of Brazilian immigrants. Spain is the second most frequent destination for
those from Goiás (20%), while Japan continues to receive mostly emigrants from São
Paulo and Paraná, respectively 20% and 15%. Finally, neighboring countries, French
Guiana, Venezuela and Bolivia receive emigrants from Amapá, Roraima and Acre,
while the countries of the south-central borders (Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) are
destinations for migrants from Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates, that in North America, the United
States has the highest concentration of Brazilian immigrants, accounting for about 42%
of all Brazilian immigrants and 96% of the Brazilian population on the continent. Canada
and México follow at distance with 3% and 1%, respectively.
The evolution of the number of Brazilians in the Latin American countries indicates,
especially since 1980, a new situation for Brazil in the regional context. Paraguay
became the country with the highest concentration of Brazilian immigrants (62%),
followed by Argentina (8%), French Guiana (7%), Bolivia (5%), Venezuela, Uruguay and
Suriname (3% each), and México (2%).
8
The word dekassegui (Japanese 稼 ぎ ぎ) is formed by the union of words in the Japanese language 出る
(deru, leave) and 稼ぐ (kasegu, to work, make money working), having a literary meaning of "working far
from home" and designating any person who leaves his home to work temporarily in another region or
country.

8. 7
Brazilian emigration to Europe has intensified in the last 20 years. Portugal (19%),
Spain (15%), the United Kingdom (14%), Germany (13%), Switzerland (9%), France
(8%) and Italy (8%) are the countries with the larger concentrations of Brazilians in the
continent.
In Asia, Japan accounts for nearly the entire Brazilian population living on the continent
(89%), making it the third largest immigrant community in that country.
The populations of Brazilians in Africa, the Middle East and Oceania are rather small
and concentrated in few countries. In Africa, 60% of the Brazilian population is in
Angola. Lebanon (35%), Israel (23%) and the United Arab Emirates (21%) have the
majority of the Brazilian population in the Middle East. And in Oceania, 83% of Brazilian
immigrants live in Australia and the other 17% in New Zealand.
The emigration process, however, involves not only those who leave the country to live
abroad, but also those who, after their journeys in other lands, return to the country of
origin: the so-called returnees.
The return of Brazilians abroad can be gauged by the number of those who, at the time
of the Demographic Censuses of 1990, 2000 and 2010, lived in Brazil but who returned
to the country five years before the Census. Between the 1990 and 2000 Censuses
there was a 182% increase in this contingent meaning that in 1991, 31,124 people
declared a foreign country of residence five years before the Census reference date,
while in 2000 this number was 87,400. The flow of Brazilian returnees of this period,
although quite diversified, is concentrated in three countries - Paraguay, Japan, and the
United States.9
V. Brazilians in the United States – Half a Century (re)making America (1960-
2010)
The Departure: Where do We Come From?
Brazilian immigration to America is part of the long history of migratory processes to this
country. The Brazilian migration to the United States is Brazil's main outward flow and
was formed, initially, with the departure of Brazilians from the Southeast region to the
American Northeast (Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York) and, later, to the
South (Florida) and to the West (California).
The first Brazilian immigrants to the United States came from the mining city of
Governador Valadares. This connection between Governador Valadares and the United
States - particularly with the state of Massachusetts - began during World War II, when
9
Wilson Fusco and Sylvain Souchaud (2010).

9. 8
Brazil became one of the largest producers of mica, which at the time was a material of
high strategic value, used for isolation in military products and in the production of
radios, a novelty in those years. The mica was mined by American companies in the
region of Governador Valadares.
After the end of the war, this industry went into crisis, but the bonds between
Governador Valadares and the United States continued, as American engineers and
other professionals, in return, "took" some of their Brazilian employees with them. It is
also said that some Brazilians would have been trained in the United States during the
operation of the company and, in the end, transferred to the United States.
This experience with the Americans in Governador Valadares and the stories about life
in the United States told by these pioneering Brazilians inspired others, years later, to
embark on the same journey. In that region of the state of Minas Gerais, it became
common to have the American dollar in the day to day of the regions life. Soon,
Governador Valadares and several cities of its surroundings, assumed the culture of
emigration and the remittances received by the relatives who stayed, created a strong
economy. Thus, the resources sent by immigrants living in the United States and the
reports that a better life in that country was a possible dream fueled the same desire for
many generations.
The Arrival: How Many are We and Where We Live?
The 2000 American Census counted 212,428 Brazilians, representing 0.7% of the 31
million immigrants living in the United States. In 2014, the American Community Survey
(ACS) registered 336,000 Brazilians, an increase of 58% when compared to the 2000
census, representing 0.8% of the 42.4 million immigrants in the country.
However, several researchers argue that both the 10-year U.S. Censuses and the ACS
underestimate the size of the immigrant population and the size of communities with
large numbers of undocumented people.10
With regard to the American Community
Survey, limiting factors in any sample data may contribute to underestimation. These
include sample size and other sample and measurement errors. In addition, there is the
fact that Brazilian immigrants, like any other immigrant population, are not spatially
distributed randomly among the population, so accurate sampling becomes difficult.
Finally, the use of sampling becomes problematic in cases where a given population
constitutes a very small proportion of the national population.
Other estimates, including those made by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE,
2014), put the number of Brazilians living in the United States between 800,000 and 1.3
10
Maxine Margolis, for example, notice that the 1990 Census counted only 94.087 Brazilians living in the
United States undercounting the Brazilian population by at least 80%.

10. 9
million.11
Estimates based on data using the flow of remittances to Brazil by Brazilians living in
the United States compute the Brazilian population living in the United States in 2007
between 803,000 and 1.4 million people. The information used for this calculation is as
follows: (1) volume of remittances from the United States to Brazil; (2) the average
remittances sent by Brazilians residing in the United States to Brazil; (3) the average
frequency of remittances; and finally, (4) the proportion of the Brazilian population that
sends remittances to Brazil. This estimate depends, of course, on the accuracy of the
total value sent, the average values of the remittances, their average frequency and the
proportion of the population that remits.12
Finally, Synovate, in surveys conducted for Banco do Brasil and Caixa Econômica
Federal in 2003, 2007 and 2008 that used the same indirect method, estimated the
population of Brazilians in the United States at 967,000 people. To this end, the
company used the value of remittances from the United States to Brazil, an average
value per transfer and the frequency of remittances. To calculate the proportion of
senders, the company assumed an average size of Brazilian households.13
Brazilians, as is common with most immigrants, reside mainly in large metropolitan
areas, where work opportunities are greater. However, the pattern of settlement of the
Brazilian immigrant population in the United States changed considerably after 1980.
Previously, California and New York were the states with the largest populations of
Brazilians - more than a third of the Brazilians in the United States. In the same year,
only 12% of Brazilian immigrants lived in the states of Florida and Massachusetts. In
1990, this distribution began to shift in favor of Florida and Massachusetts (23%), while
the share of the population living in California and New York declined to 32%, a trend
that would amplify in the following decades. Florida, with 21% of the Brazilian
population, was the most popular destination for Brazilians in 2000. In 2014, most
Brazilians were concentrated in Florida (20%), followed by Massachusetts (17%),
California (10%), New Jersey (9%) and New York (7%). Together, these five states are
the places of residence of 63% of Brazilians living in the United States. Another
important trend is the dispersion of Brazilians throughout the American territory, a
phenomenon that is also common among other immigrants. While in 2000, 30% of
Brazilians lived in states other than the five mentioned above, in 2014, this proportion
was 38%.
Brazilians, in 2000, were the 28th largest immigrant community in the United States
(2000 U.S. Census), ranking 19th in 2014 (2014 ACS 1-Year Estimate). Florida, with
about 260,000 Brazilians, according to MRE estimates and the distribution of ACS by
11
The estimates of the MRE are based on consultations made by this body with Brazilian Embassies and
Consulates, as well as other considerations.
12
Lima, Alvaro, (2009).
13
Synovate, (2007).

11. 10
state, is the most popular destination among Brazilians. An analysis of the Brazilian
population by census tracts shows that there are two primary settlement areas for
Brazilians in Florida: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Orlando.
Massachusetts is the state with the second largest population of Brazilian immigrants,
about 218,000, using the same methodology. Three areas of primary concentration of
Brazilians stand out in the state: Boston and the North Shore region, the region known
as Metro West and the South Shore region of the state and its islands of Martha
Vineyards and Nantucket.
The New York-New Jersey region is home to about 212,000 Brazilians. The majority,
about 121,000, in the state of New Jersey, in the city of Newark and its surroundings.
Finally, California has 10% of the Brazilian population, or about 125,000 Brazilians,
mostly in the San Francisco Bay area and in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
The Stay: Who Are We and What We do?
Age, Gender, and Marital Status
As of 2014, the median age of Brazilian immigrants in the United States was 39 years –
four years more than the median of the native population and less than the median age
of all immigrants (43 years). However, Brazilian age distribution was more like that of all
immigrants than to that of natives. The clear majority of Brazilians and of all immigrants
are working age: 87% of Brazilians and 78% of all immigrants are between the ages of
20 and 64. Children and the elderly are considerably less well represented: only 7% of
the Brazilian immigrants and 8% of all immigrants are younger than 20, while 6% of
Brazilians and 14% of all immigrants are 65 years old or older. In contrast, the native
population is more evenly distributed by age: 57% are between the ages of 20 and 64,
just under one-third are below the age of 20, and 14% are age 65 or older.
The breakdown by gender is nearly identical for all three groups: 51% of all immigrants
and native residents are women while women make up 56% of Brazilian immigrants.
Brazilian immigrants are more likely to be married than native residents but less likely
than all immigrants: 57% of Brazilians are married, compared with 59% of all immigrants
and 46% of natives.
Citizenship and Duration of Residency
Brazilian immigrants are much less likely to be naturalized citizens compared with the
total immigrant population. Only 37% of Brazilian immigrants are U.S. citizens, while

12. 11
47% of all immigrants are naturalized. This is not surprising given the fact that many
Brazilian immigrants arrived in the U.S. much more recently than immigrants from other
countries. Only 7% of Brazilians and 17% of all immigrants came to the United States
before 1980. In contrast, more than half of Brazilian immigrants (59%) and only 41% of
all immigrants immigrated after 2000.
English Proficiency and Educational Attainment
Brazilians’ command of English differs than that of all immigrants in the United States.
Brazilians are slightly less likely to lack any English skills but they are also less likely to
speak English only. At the same time, Brazilians are more likely to speak English well or
very well: 58% of them do, compared with 50% of all immigrants.
Compared with immigrants from all countries, Brazilians are less well represented
among least educated groups and somewhat better represented at the highest levels of
educational attainment. While 30% of all immigrants in the United States lack a high
school degree, among Brazilians this share is only 11%. A full third of Brazilians are
high school graduates, compared with 23% of all immigrants and 29% of all natives.
Furthermore, Brazilians are more likely to be college graduates than both immigrants
and native residents. 24% of Brazilians have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 17%
of all immigrants and 19% of natives. Finally, educational attainment at the graduate
level is also higher for Brazilians: 13% of Brazilians, 12% of natives and 11% of all
immigrants hold advanced degrees.
Labor Force Participation and Unemployment
Brazilian immigrants are more likely to participate in the labor force than are both
natives and all immigrants—a fact that holds true for both genders as well as for the
population. 71% of Brazilians over the age of 16 are in the labor force, compared with
66% of all immigrants and 63% of natives. Men’s labor force participation rates for the
three groups are higher: 83% of Brazilian men, 77% of all immigrant men, and 67% of
native men are in the labor force. The labor force participation rate for Brazilian women
is 61%, compared with 56% for all immigrant women and 59% of native women.
Brazilians who do participate in the labor force appear significantly more successful at
finding employment than both natives and immigrants from all countries. The
unemployment rate of Brazilians in 2014 was 5% compared with 6.4% for all immigrants
and 7.4% for natives. Similar comparisons hold by gender as well. Brazilian men’s
unemployment rate, at 3.6%, is lower than the unemployment rate of native men (5.4%).
The unemployment rate of Brazilian women is somewhat higher at 6.6%. However, they
are still less likely to be unemployed than are all immigrant and native women, whose
unemployment rates are 7.6% and 7.1%, respectively.
Class of Worker

13. 12
Brazilian immigrants are more than twice as likely to be self-employed as are all
immigrant and almost three times as likely as native workers. A quarter of Brazilians
work at their own businesses, compared with only 12% of all immigrant workers and 9%
of natives. Among them, the share of Brazilians who work at their own incorporated and
non-incorporated businesses is again higher: 7% and 18% respectively for Brazilians,
compared with just 4% and 8% for all immigrants and 3% and 6% for the native
population.
Sixty nine percent of Brazilians work for private employers—a share lower than the 79%
of all immigrants and 75% of natives. Brazilian immigrants are also less likely to be
government workers than both natives and all immigrants: 6% of Brazilians work in the
public sector, compared with 9% of all immigrants and 16% of native workers.
Employment by Industry
Fifty four percent of all Brazilians are employed in four industries: (1) Professional,
Scientific, Technical Services and Administration and Support Waste Management
Services; (2) Construction; (3) Other Services; and (4) Arts, Entertainment, and
Recreation, and Accommodation and Food Services. The first employs 18% of all
Brazilian workers, Construction employs 13%, while the other two industries each
account for 12% and 11% of Brazilian workers. The industry breakdown of Brazilian
immigrants differs somewhat from that of both all immigrant and all native workers. The
most popular industries for all other immigrants are Professional, Scientific, Technical
Services and Administration and Support Waste Management Services (13%); Health
Care and Social Assistance (13%); Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation, and
Accommodation and Food Services (12%); and Manufacturing, which employs 11% of
all immigrants. Native workers are employed mostly in Health and Social Services
(14%); Retail (12%); Professional, Scientific, Technical Services and Administration and
Support Waste Management Services (11%); and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation,
and Accommodation and Food Services (10%).
Employment by Occupation
Most Brazilian workers are concentrated in Management, Professional and Related
Occupations (33%); followed by Service Occupations (29%); Sales and Office Services
(16%); Construction, Extraction, Maintenance and Repair (13%); and Production,
Transportation and Material Moving (8%).
Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship
According to the ACS (2014), 63,679 Brazilian immigrants are self-employed, with
48,287 working in the informal sector (unincorporated businesses) and 15,392 in

14. 13
incorporated enterprises. Among the former, women have greater representation (58%),
while only 34% of them are among small business owners.
Massachusetts is the state with the highest concentration of Brazilians engaged in
autonomous activities (23%), followed by Florida (18%), California (10%), New Jersey
(9%), Connecticut (9%) and New York (7%). Together, these states account for 76% of
these types of workers.
There are 4.9 million small entrepreneurs in the U.S. and 18% of them, or 900,000 are
immigrants.14
This proportion is greater than the proportion of immigrants in the
country's population (13%) and slightly higher than their participation in the labor force
(16%).15
As mentioned previously, Brazilians own 15,392 small enterprises, accounting
for 1.7% of small immigrant entrepreneurs, a proportion greater than the proportion of
Brazilians in the country's population (0.11%), but smaller than their participation in the
labor force (6.1%)
Immigrant entrepreneurs come from many parts of the globe. Mexicans (12%) make up
most immigrant entrepreneurs followed by Indians (7%) and Koreans (6%). Cubans,
Chinese and Vietnamese occupy the fourth place with 4% each. Canadians and
Iranians follow with 3%, ahead of Filipinos, Poles, Italians, Colombians, Taiwanese,
Germans, Salvadorans, Pakistani and English, with 2% each. The Brazilians are the
seventh largest group of immigrant entrepreneurs with 1%, along with 27 other national
groups.
The groups with the highest entrepreneurship rates16
are from Greece (16%),
Israel/Palestine (13%), Syria and Iran (12% each), Lebanon and Jordan (11% each),
Italy and Korea (10% each), South Africa (9%) and Ireland, Iraq, Pakistan and Turkey
(8% each). Brazilians score tenth together with immigrants from Germany, Portugal,
and Hong Kong.
Several studies show that entrepreneurship among immigrants correlates with length of
stay in the country. Once established, immigrants begin to invest in businesses.
This is evident by the higher rate of entrepreneurship among immigrants with more than
ten years of residency in the country. Among immigrants with ten years or less of
residency in the United States, 3.5% are owners of a small business, while those in the
country for more than ten years this rate is 4.4%.17
The same correlation is confirmed
among Brazilians. Only 4% of those residing in the country for ten years or less own a
small business compared to 7% for those who live in the country for more than ten
years - both rates above the average of the other immigrants.
14
Fiscal Policy Institute, (2012).
15
Ibid.
16
Entrepreneurship rates are defined as the percentage of entrepreneurs in relation to the workforce.
17
Ibid.

15. 14
Brazilian entrepreneurs are scattered throughout the country following a similar
distribution as that for unincorporated self-employed workers. Florida occupies the top
spot with 36% of the Brazilian entrepreneurs, followed by the state of Massachusetts
(11%) and New York (9%). The states of California and New Jersey each have 8% of
Brazilian companies, while Georgia and Connecticut have 4% each. Together, these
states account for 80% of Brazilian small business owners.
The distribution by productive sectors of self-employed non-incorporated workers is like
that of the owners of small businesses in different proportions. The first are
concentrated in the Other Services (36%), Professional, Scientific, Technical Services
and Administration and Support Waste Management Services (26%) and Construction
(17%), while the latter are concentrated in Construction (25%), Professional, Scientific,
Technical Services and Administration and Support Waste Management Services
(22%), Other Services (11%), in addition to Retail Trade (7%).
Median Earnings
In 2014, among full-time year-round workers aged 16 and older, the median earnings of
Brazilian immigrants ($40,337) were higher than those of all immigrant workers
($35,295) but lower than those of native workers ($45,379). A comparison of the median
earnings for male workers yields diverse results: While Brazilian male workers out-earn
immigrant men, they make less than the median native male earnings. Brazilian women,
display the same income profile, they earn more than the other immigrant women
($35,295 for Brazilian women and $32,572 for other immigrant women) and less than
native women ($39,833).
The average income of formal Brazilian entrepreneurs is almost twice as large as the
income of Brazilians who are self-employed on non-incorporated businesses. Brazilian
entrepreneurs have an average annual income of $40,689 compared to $ 21,466 those
non-incorporated.
Household and Family Incomes and Poverty Status
In 2014, households headed by Brazilian immigrants had a median household income
of $55,463. This income was higher than for households headed by other immigrant
($49,484) and higher than for households headed even by natives ($54,455).
Both Brazilian families and Brazilian individuals in the United States tend to be less poor
than their immigrant and their native counterparts. In 2014, the family poverty rate for
families headed by Brazilians was 11%, compared with 17% of all immigrant families
and 13% of native families. Similarly, the individual poverty rate for Brazilians was lower
(13%), compared to 18% for all immigrants and 15% of all native individuals were

16. 15
considered poor.
Homeownership Status and Housing Characteristics
The distribution of Brazilian immigrants by homeownership status differs from that of all
immigrants and natives. Brazilians are much less likely to own their housing unit than
the other two groups: only 41% of Brazilians are homeowners, compared with 51% of all
immigrants and 65% of natives.
Brazilians who do own their homes appear to have lower housing costs than other
immigrant and native homeowners. Of Brazilian homeowners, 44% have housing costs
that would be considered burdensome (that is, their monthly housing costs equal or
exceed 30% of their household income). The situation among the other immigrants and
the native population is more severe, with 50% of the former and 46% of the native
population with costs that are considered burdensome. Among renters, Brazilians have
housing costs higher than the other immigrants and native population. More than half of
Brazilians (52%) spend more than 30% or more of their incomes on rent, while only
49% of all immigrants and 43% of the native population have housing expenses at this
level.
Finally, Brazilians are less likely to live in crowded housing conditions than all
immigrants, but more likely than natives. While 3% of the housing units occupied by
Brazilian immigrants are crowded (that is, they house 1.01 or more occupants per
room); 12% of units occupied by all immigrants and only 2% of units occupied by
natives are considered crowded.
Economic Contributions to Receiving and Sending Countries
Brazilian immigrants contribute in various ways to the economic progress of the
countries where they live. Such contributions emanate from their activities as workers,
entrepreneurs, and their spending as consumers. Finally, there is also a form of
contribution less studied that is the "subsidy" to the economies of the recipient
countries, resulting from the fact that they do not bear the costs of producing the
immigrant workforce.
In addition to the direct contribution as workers, Brazilian immigrants contribute to the
American economy through their consumption expenditures. If we consider the Brazilian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates of the Brazilian immigrant population between
800,000 and 1.3 million people living in the United States, they would have an annual
expenditure between 15.3 billion and 24.9 billion of dollars. These expenditures would
generate a gross national product of $31 to $47 billion and between $4.1 to $ 6.7
billions of dollars in State and Federal taxes. Such expenditures would induce the
creation of 333,600 to 499,800 indirect jobs in the United States.

17. 16
As mentioned previously, Brazilian immigrants are owners of more than 15,000 small
and medium-sized enterprises in the retail trade, and in food and accommodation
services. These companies contribute $ 5.8 billion to the gross national product and
generate $ 3.7 billion in individual income. They employ 42,000 people directly, in
addition to creating 23,000 indirect jobs. They also contribute 879 million dollars in state
and federal taxes.
In general, discussions on the contribution of immigrants to the receiving economies are
limited to aspects listed above. However, this discussion should be extended to
introduce a fundamental fact regarding immigrant labor: they were born in other
countries which means that the discussions should not only focus on production, that is,
on what immigrant workers produces, but also on the costs associated with the creation
of this workforce - the costs incurred prior to this productive period. This analysis also
implies the inclusion of costs associated with the post-productive phase, that is,
retirement.18
For example, if we were to consider only the investments in education incurred by the
sending countries before a laborer emigrates, these investments represent a public or
private subsidy to the receiving country. The former incurs the costs of preparing the
labor force while the latter benefits from their productivity.
To illustrate this phenomenon concretely, we can use U.S. Census data, according to
which 7.9 million immigrants aged 25 and over entered the United States between 2000
and 2009. Of this population, 5.1 million (66%) have at least a high school diploma and
1.7 million (21%) have a Bachelor’s degree. Just over a million have a master's or PhD
degree (or 13%). Considering the average cost of public education for each of these
levels, these immigrants "bring" about 1.5 trillion dollars in educational investments.
Throughout this half century of Brazilian immigration to the United States, many
investments were based on the economic activities of immigrants. Ventures were
created in the regions of origin of these immigrants, financed by the remittances they
sent home or by the investments of returning immigrants.
Research carried out in 2008 for the Remittance Program19
found that 80% of Brazilian
immigrants living in Massachusetts intended to open a business in Brazil. Between
2009 and 2014, as part of the Remittance Program, 119 companies located in Minas
Gerais (in Governador Valadares and surrounding municipalities), all of which originated
from remittances or created by returnees.
18
The French anthropologist Claude Meillassoux, in his 1981 work "Maidens, Meal and Money,
"emphasizes the importance of addressing the issue of immigration from both the point of view of
production as well as reproduction of the workforce.
19
Synovate Brasil (2008), Estudo Projeto BRA 55/027.

18. 17
Public and private leaders from many regions in Brazilian recognize the importance of
these investments to their local economies. In all these regions, during periods of high
inflows of remittances, there was an increase in economic dynamism.
The maintenance and renewal of migratory culture is one of the stronger and more
visible social influences in the regions of origin. The "coming and going" of thousands of
people to the United States over the five decades under review, renews the notion of
migration as one of the alternatives for overcoming the difficulties experienced in the
homeland. This permeates the collective imagination, across generations, instilling a
desire to live in the United States.
The Journey Back
The emigration journey comprises, at the same time, the desire to achieve what is
sought in the foreign country and the closing of this process, which is completed with
the return to the homeland.
The reasons to return to Brazil during the five decades analyzed (1960-2010) varies
from personal to more structural reasons. From the analysis of the five decades of
Brazilian immigration In the United States, it is possible to identify the main factors for
the decision to return: (a) financial goals accomplished; (b) health issues; (c)
deportation; (d) loss of the source of income; (e) improving local conditions in Brazil; (f)
age; and (g) homesickness.20
To accumulate financial resources considered sufficient to return is, for many
immigrants, the guarantee of financial stability and the standard of living sought in the
first place. The savings are, in general, invested in businesses, mostly in traditional
economic sectors.
To obtain financial resources sufficient to make the trip back, Brazilian immigrants in the
United States work very hard. For most, multiple jobs and shifts with few breaks and
time off are the norm. This intense work schedule creates health problems, making it
impossible for them to continue working. And, in these cases, the return is one of the
most likely alternatives.
The return is not an "option" when a deportation occurs. In this situation, the immigrant
cannot decide about his or her permanence in the United States. Here, the return is
involuntary and re-emigration maybe an option. This new journey sometimes happens
in another country.
The loss of employment or the significant reduction in income in the United States is
20
Siqueira, S. (2007), O Sonho Frustado e o Sonho Realizado: As Duas Faces da Migração para os
Estados Unidos.

19. 18
another reason for return. In times of crisis in the United States, the return to Brazil
intensifies. Brazilians who worked in the construction industry, for example, saw their
income reduced after the start of the recession between 2008 and 2009 years and
many of them left for Brazil. Some Brazilian companies in the construction sector that
had more than 100 employees in 2008, saw this number to drop to 15 during 2008-
2009. Those who did not have savings to weather the crisis returned to Brazil. Linked
also to the question of loss of income is the growth of the Brazilian economy provoking
a more favorable exchange rate.
Aging has also been a reason for the return of immigrants to Brazil. Even though the job
market for the elderly in the United States is better than that in Brazil, reaching
retirement age has been a driving factor in the return, reinforced by the fact that
Brazilians can continue to receive their contribution to U.S. social security in Brazil.
The emotional dimension of the return journey is like that of the departure. For many,
the years outside Brazil without the possibility of visiting, provoke psychological issues
complicating the return process.21
Homesickness that is suppressed afar, at the arrival
back home, is transformed in new sentiments that give rise to new identity searches. In
Brazil, those who return often carry the doubt of staying or of re-emigrating. The liking
for life in the United States, the customs and habits of America, imprint on those who
returns the will to live always here and there.
References:
Fiscal Policy Institute. 2012. Immigrant Small Business Owners – A Significant and Growing Part of the Economy.
FUSCO, Wilson; SOUCHAUD, Sylvain (2010). “De Volta para Casa: A Distribuição dos Brasileiros Retornados do
Exterior”. Confins [Online], n. 9. Disponível em: http://confins.revues.org/6469.
LEVITT, Peggy, (2001). The Transnational Villagers. Los Angeles and Berkley: University of California Press.
LIMA, Alvaro and PLASTRIK, Pete. A Profile of Brazilian Remitters in Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts (2007).
https://www.slideshare.net/alvaroelima/a-profile-of-brazilian-remitters-in-massachusetts?qid=cb8282b0-76c6-49a7-
9291-fa7765a704a7&v=&b=&from_search=1
LIMA, Alvaro, GARCIA-ZANELLO, Eugenia; OROZCO, Manuel (2009). “Brazilians in the U.S.: A Look at Migrants
and Transnationalism”. Disponível em: https://www.slideshare.net/alvaroelima/brazil-lasa1?qid=c95a93ab-14a1-
4228-8b83-bfce2c9918f7&v=&b=&from_search=1
LIMA, Alvaro, (2009). Brasileiros na América. Disponível em: https://www.slideshare.net/alvaroelima/brasileiros-na-
amrica-39613381.
MARGOLIS, M. L., (1994). Little Brazil: An Ethnography of Brazilian Immigrants in New York City. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University.
MEILLASSOUX, Claude, (1981). Maidens, Meal and Money. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
21
The expectation of a family reunion, and the return to the place left, are strong variables that impact
their readjustment.

20. 19
Ministério das Relações Exteriores (MRE), (2014). Brasileiros no Mundo – Estimativas. Subsecretaria-Geral das
Comunidades Brasileiras no Exterior (SGEB), Departamento Consular e de Brasileiros no Exterior (DCB); Divisão de
Assistência Consular (DAC).
PATARRA, N.; BAENINGER, R., (1995). “Migrações Internacionais Recentes: O Caso do Brasil”. In: Pellegrino, A.
(Comp.) Migración e Integración. Ediciones Trilce.
SIQUEIRA, S., (2007). “O Sonho Frustrado e o Sonho Realizado: As Duas Faces da Migração para os EUA”. Nuevo
Mundo Mundos Nuevos. Nouveaux Mondes Nouveaux. Novo Mundo Mundos Novos. New World New Worlds.
Synovate Brasil, (2007). Imigrantes Brasileiros Residentes nos Estados Unidos. Synovate Brasil, (2008). Remetentes
e Beneficiários – Massachusetts e Microrregião de Governador Valadares.
Synovate Brasil (2008), Estudo Projeto BRA 55/027.