Thread: Leaving Massachusetts

Leaving Massachusetts
By Bianca Vazquez Toness

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - August 13, 2007 - In the midst of the debate about immigrants coming to America, something unusual is happening in Massachusetts: Brazilian immigrants are quietly packing up and leaving.

The falling dollar has made it less attractive for them to work in the United States, and tightened immigration laws are making it uncomfortable to stay.

The departures are already having an effect on the labor supply and on businesses in some immigrant neighborhoods in the city and the suburbs. W-B-U-R's Bianca Vazquez Toness reports.


BIANCA VAZQUEZ TONESS: Eduardo Filho is standing on a ladder painting the ceiling of an apartment in Roxbury. He paints and works in construction around Boston and planned to do it longer, but says he wants to go back to Brazil. That's because he's not making as much money here as he used to.

EDUARDO FILHO: PORTUGUESE
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: I'm going back sometime in the next two months. I can see the situation here in America is pretty bad. The economy is in free fall and I can't see a way it will get better in the next five years.


TONESS: Like Filho, Brazilian immigrants around the state - both legal and illegal - are going back.
And some industries that depend on Brazilian labor are suffering. Gilvan da Silva runs a house- cleaning company. This is the most important month for housecleaners, when they can earn about 20 percent of the years profits cleaning apartments before September first move-in dates. Typically, his company cleans about 140 houses during that time.

DA SILVA: In 2007, I can't take more than 50 units, that's my limit.

TONESS: Because you don't have enough labor?

DA SILVA: That's correct. Because we don't have labor enough. Most people are leaving Massachusetts.

TONESS: Just as it's hard to know how many Brazilians live in Massachusetts, it's also hard to know how many are leaving. But one way to get a sense is by talking to travel agents.
Marcia Carvalho manages a Brazilian agency in Somerville.

CARVALHO: PORTUGUESE
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Out of every 100 tickets we sell, about 70 are one-way, so a lot of people are returning. It's because of the U.S. economy. It's really weak now and the dollar is really low in Brazil.

TONESS: A similar turnabout occurred among Irish immigrants in Boston, as they've returned to that country because of Ireland's economic boom.

While Carvalho thinks it's the economy, others think Brazilians are leaving because of the political climate around illegal immigration.

FAUSTO DA ROCHA: Because the climate's not good. We're starting to feel the oppression.

Fausto da Rocha runs the Brazilian Immigrant Center in Allston. He estimates that more than 3,000 Brazilians left Massachusetts last year and he expects at least five 5,000 more to leave this year.

DA ROCHA: The sentiment against immigrants keeps growing and growing and it doesn't just affect undocumented. It affects others. For example, myself, I have my greencard, and I feel the same pain. Because this is my people, this is my community.

TED WELTE: This was a Woolworth store and now is Pablo Maia group, real estate and mortgages.

TONESS: Ted Welte is president of the Metrowest Chamber of Commerce. He says Brazilians have remade Framingham's downtown.

WELTE: We have been blessed. The folks who have decided to pick Framingham to come from other countries. They are entrepreneurs, they don't want to be on welfare, they don't want to take from society. They want to give.

TONESS: But Welte's worried that the exodus of Brazilians from Framingham will force shop owners here to shut down.

WELTE: I was here when downtown was pretty empty and i don't think anyone wants to see that again.

TONESS: There are already a handful of empty stores in downtown Framingham abandoned by Brazilian businesses. But there is one new shop just opening up. Problem is it's is a shipping company. A shipping company that helps people send their belongings back to Brazil.



The audio for this story will be available on WBUR's web site after 10 a.m. on Monday.

http://www.wbur.org/news/2007/69528_20070813.asp

Austa La Bye - Bye muchacho's

The departures are already having an effect on the labor supply

.. It sure will have a big effect on the labor supply! More American workers will be working...

...and at higher wages

I agree that this trend is a good thing but at the same time being Brazilian is not the same thing as being illegal. There is no more legitimacy in attacking Brazilians living in the United States for being Brazilian than there is in attacking Irish for being Irish. It is supposed to be all about their fraudulent or illicit entry not their race or ethnicity.


ALIPAC and NumbersUSA have mission statements including clauses against racial and ethnic bashing. Unlike them the Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform the largest Massachusetts immigration enforcement lobby has elected an Executive Director who has moved in favor of allowing anti ethnic and racist activists to post to the group e-list and forum to their hearts content. There are immigrants or second and third generation Latinos and brazilans who should be recognized for opposition to illegal immigation who are already no longer feeling comfortable with the new edge.

The Massachusetts Citizens for Immigration Reform the largest Massachusetts immigration enforcement lobby has elected an Executive Director who has moved in favor of allowing anti ethnic and racist activists to post to the group e-list and forum to their hearts content.

People who were not racist before are slowly becoming that way because of the governments lack of enforcing the laws on illegals and making American citizens suffer for it. And the longer they continue to turn a def ear to Americans the worse it's probably going to get.

They only have themselves to blame.

I think it is smart of them to leave now, especially if they are going to go back though Mexico, this way they will avoid the rush and heavy traffic !!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALIPAC AUGUST FUND RAISER
PLEASE help ALIPAC stay in the fight against illegal immigration!!!!
http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=75673
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT ALIPAC???

I was talking with my sister about the illegal Brazilians leaving Mass.

She remembered going to Martha's Vinyard 4 years ago and happened to talk to a local roofer in the area.

He was telling them how mad he was that the illegal Brazilians had come to Martha's Vinyard and were taking all of the work in the area.

I have a feeling he very happy right now and his business will be picking up before long!