Thread: Brazilians coming to the US by the truck load!!

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16055894.htm



BRAZIL
Brazilian town is losing its young to American dreamBrazilians, clamoring for the American dream, are the fastest-growing group to cross the U.S. border with Mexico illegally.
BY MONTE REEL
Washington Post Service
GOVERNADOR VALADARES, Brazil - Maria Lierje was at the kitchen table the other day, wearing a shirt with the image of a saint she believes helps her cope with lost causes. Next to her was one such case, eating sponge cake and wiping milk from the dusky adolescent shadow on his upper lip.

Guilherme, her son, is 14, so he probably has another few years before he sets off on a daredevil journey to the United States. In the meantime, she tries to remind him of the five months her oldest son spent in a Texas jail after trying to cross the Rio Grande, and of his uncle, who nearly died of hunger while trying to cross the border.

''What can I do?'' she asked. ``I tell him he can make a good life here, that it's not that bad. But he's a man. I can't change his mind.''

TRADITION

Getting to the United States is a coming-of-age tradition for the men of this family, and for many others in this country, apparently: U.S. immigration officials believe Brazilians were the fastest-growing group of illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border between 2000 and 2005. Last year, only Mexicans and Hondurans are believed to have crossed in greater numbers.

Brazil's distance from the United States makes emigrating a complicated process that requires both resources and familiarity with a business sector that helps coordinate border-crossing attempts. The process became more complicated last year when, with encouragement from the United States, Mexico began requiring tourist visas of Brazilians. The result, according to U.S. Border Patrol officials, has been a dramatic decrease in apprehensions at the border -- from more than 31,000 in fiscal 2005 to an estimated 1,500 in the most recent fiscal year.

But that doesn't mean people aren't still trying. Now many travel agencies here fly customers to Guatemala, where they can enter Mexico with less risk of getting caught, or try their luck on a boat. Some even go to Portugal, from where it is said to be easier to get into the United States with false documents.

''If I could, I'd go tomorrow,'' Guilherme said. ``All the men in the family except my father are there -- two brothers, all four of my uncles. It must be fun there.''

Guilherme's image of the United States is a collage of snapshots sent from his brothers in Florida and Massachusetts; tales of local legends, like the man who emigrated to the Boston area and now owns a $6 million house; stories of newborn children with U.S. citizenship.

Almost all Brazilians go to the United States in search of economic opportunity, but they aren't the poorest of the poor. Guilherme's family, for instance, lives in a modestly comfortable home. If he stayed in this city, he would probably work in his parents' market, supplementing a modest income with occasional gifts from relatives abroad. The prospect holds no charm for him.

In America, he believes, even the disasters are beautiful.

''I got this picture once, from my brother, of a hurricane that hit near where he lives in Florida,'' he said. ``It was so cool.''

REMITTANCES

Across the railroad tracks on the outskirts of the city, armies of yellow construction machines crawl over denuded fields. Workers dig ditches in 90-degree heat. A total of 416 lots have been offered for sale in this subdivision, and all have been pre-sold. Nearly every one was bought with money sent home from the United States, according to local officials.

The site manager is considering naming the development ``The Neighborhood of Immigrants.''

Such a name wouldn't exactly be bracingly original here. A local newspaper, for example, is called the Immigrant and has correspondents in Massachusetts, Florida and Connecticut. The city itself has been referred to as ''Little America'' and ''Governador Vala-dolares'' -- a reference to all the dollars sent home by stateside relatives.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 people from Governador Valadares are estimated to be living in the United States, most of them illegally. About 60 percent of the money flowing through the city is directly or indirectly linked to those relatives, city officials estimate.

''There are a lot of neighborhoods here built solely with the money sent back from the U.S.,'' said Raimundo Santana, editor of the Immigrant, who recently returned after living legally in Massachusetts for eight years. ``You see a lot of homes with additions and parts that have been remodeled, all from their relatives.''

Brazil received about $6.4 billion last year from its citizens who live abroad, second only to Mexico among the countries of Latin America. A University of Sao Paulo study estimated that about 14 percent of the dollars sent from the estimated 1.5 million Brazilians living in the United States end up in this city of about 230,000 residents

God, would you please help us here, it's for sure our leaders aren't going to?

This city is located in Minas Gerais,a small town, inland, and it was a place of an American army facility.
When the Americans left the town, .all those people started coming to US .
They had much better way to come here once they knew people here.
It's really the city that has the most immigrant community here, then it started to spread "if they could come illegaly why the others can't"
I met several here and is amazing how they complain because "they (the American people) don't want us to stay, but we are going to get amnesty so a little time more and we are going to be legals."

Normaly I argue with them, but it's so common to be here illegal that when I tell them I'm an American citizen they don't belive me, also they don't like me they say I'm a brazillian traitor because I don't agree with them breaking the laws of this country and coming here only to make money.

Hi minnie
I guess I'm some kind of traitor too because I don't excuse anyone violating our laws.
Help me out here please if you know.

Brazilians speak Portuguese. They are not Hispanic?
But they are Latino?
Are they part of La Raza or are they excluded for some reason?

I should post a picture of a new large sign at a shopping strip in Pompano Beach. It lights up and has a map of the lower 48 states and it's colored in with the Brazilian flag.

I like the message you're sending Mr. Bush. I'm beginning to think that you and Nancy Pelosi are going to make a great team.

Good luck America.

Hello loservillelabor,

They say I'm a traitor because I was born there but when I became American I truly embrace my citizenship, I don't keep one foot here and one foot there.
I don't agree with this conceipt that you can be patriotic to 2 countries, it's a utopia.
Brazillians speak potuguese wich is a latin language as well as french, italian, rumain, spanish, the origin of these languages is the latin language, so yes they are latinos.
But brazillians don't like spanosh or spanish people, they don't consider themselves as a nation as the hispanic people do.
Brazil has very different culture and is very different from Central and Hispanic America.
About those comunist organizations , here of course they support them, they are in the same boat, all are criminal illegals with no respect for people or laws, only abiding to their cause- take as much money and profit from this country as they can.

Thank you minnie. It's apparently as I was thinking. La Raza is a race of outlaws created by outlaws. Illegal is not a race.

You got it .

I was ready to post here until I noticed that it's mostly a bunch of irrationals frothing at the mouth in rage and scratching one another's back. Keep your forum. You all deserve it.

Originally Posted by Alfonso

I was ready to post here until I noticed that it's mostly a bunch of irrationals frothing at the mouth in rage and scratching one another's back. Keep your forum. You all deserve it.

hooray! the ones who post here in anger have a right to be, if your not angry... you should be.

But this forum is full of informative news, up-to-date polls and other material to help in the fight to stop illegal immigration and most of the post here are rather rational and well thought out.

thanks for stopping in, now please go tell your boss at La Raza to move back to Mexico. k thanks.