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Experiencing Ethnic Economies: Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

Alan P. Marcusa
a
Department of Geography and Environmental Planning, Towson University, Towson, Maryland,
USA
Online publication date: 24 February 2011

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of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 9: 1, 57 81


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ISSN: 1556-2948 print / 1556-2956 online
DOI: 10.1080/15562948.2011.547826

Experiencing Ethnic Economies:


Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees
ALAN P. MARCUS

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Department of Geography and Environmental Planning,


Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA

Brazilian immigrants in the United States experience socioeconomic changes and engage in various professional occupations.
Migrant livelihoods and experiences are affected in two receiving
communities in the United States (Framingham, Massachusetts,
and Marietta, Georgia), and in two sending communities in Brazil
(Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba). What are the most common professional occupations among Brazilians immigrants, and
what were their professional occupations prior to migrating? How
are immigrants livelihoods and experiences being shaped by current economic exchanges spurred by immigration? I evaluate these
important questions by looking at changes at the micro-level, within
migrants occupations, experiences, and economic transactions. By
weaving though survey results and excerpts from a total of 273 interviews in two receiving communities and returnees in two sending
communities, I illustrate how migration processes have significantly
affected ethnic economies and livelihoods at the micro-level in both
receiving and sending communities. Most returnees had worked
in service sector occupations, such as construction work among
men, and housecleaning among women; and, among those who
remained in the United States, became business owners, teachers,
or continued to work within service sectors.
KEYWORDS Brazilian immigration, ethnic economies, ethnic geography, return migration, transnationalism

Address correspondence to Alan P. Marcus, PhD, Department of Geography and Environmental Planning, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252-0001. E-mail:
amarcus@towson.edu
57

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INTRODUCTION
The influx of recent immigrants1 to the United States in the past four decades
has transformed U.S. ethnic landscapes and economies in various significant
ways (Berry & Henderson, 2003; Frazier & Tettey-Fio, 2006; Kaplan & Li,
2006; Miyares & Airriess, 2007). Since the implementation of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which removed national quotas favoring
European immigration, Latin American immigration to the United States increased notably (Sierra, Carrillo, DeSipio, & Jones-Correa, 2000, p. 536).
Today, Brazilian immigrants are second among the three largest U.S. unauthorized population percent increases from 2000 to 2006, with an average
annual population change of 110% (U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
2006). An estimated 1.2 million Brazilians live in the United States (Figure 1;
Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2002), yet the U.S. Census 2000 counted
only 212,428 Brazilians (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2000a, 2000b), and
the American Community Survey in 2007 counted only 301,621,159 (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2007).
Brazilian immigrants sent US$6 billion in remittances back to Brazil in
2004, representing about 1% of the Brazilian gross domestic product (GDP),

FIGURE 1 Map of the United States (Framingham and Marietta) Note. Map by Paporn Thebpanya.

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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

59

however; because most of these remittances were sent informally, the Brazilian Central Bank (Banco Central) officially registered only US$2.4 million in
remittances for the same year (Martes & Soares, 2006). Rather than engage in
exhaustive theoretical or comprehensive economic analyses of Brazilian immigrant economies,2 I provide glimpses at the micro-level of such economic
activities by highlighting Brazilian immigrant livelihoods, experiences, and
occupations, before and after migration occurs. These results are nongeneralizable, as they were not originally intended to statistically represent Brazilian
immigrant populations at the macro-levelparticularly since the great majority (estimated at over 75%) of the Brazilian immigrant population in the
United States is undocumented (Margolis, 1994; Sales, 1998). The objective
of this study was to evaluate an older migration corridor between Governador Valadares and Framingham, well-established in the literature (Almeida,
2003; Margolis, 1994, 1998; Sales, 1998; Siqueira, 2006), and a more recent
migration corridor between Piracanjuba and Marietta, unstudied until now
(Figures 1 and 2).
What are the most common Brazilian immigrant occupations in two receiving communities of Framingham, Massachusetts, and Marietta, Georgia,
in the United States; and, what were the most common occupations prior to
migrating in two sending communities of Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba in Brazil? How are economic exchanges and immigrant livelihoods
being shaped by migration processes? How are immigrants and returnees experiencing economic changes? Using multiple methods, (including primary
and secondary data analysis; Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967), I address these important questions of particular interest to ethnic geographers,
social scientists, and public policy makers.
Despite the magnitude of Brazilian immigration to major U.S. metropolitan areas (Figure 3), Brazilians remain largely unknown to the general
U.S. public. Disproportionate emphasis placed on Spanish-speaking America within U.S. academia and disseminated within U.S. public discourses,
have contributed to minimizing the presence of Brazilian immigrants in the
United States. Moreover, references to the terms Hispanic and Latino are
problematic. The U.S. Census does not consider Brazilians to be Hispanic
(since 1990) or Latino (since 2000), because they do not speak Spanish
(Office of Management and Budget, 2006); about one in every three Latin
Americans speaks Portuguesenot Spanish. Brazil deserves a much-needed
(re)insertion within U.S.-Latin American dialogues, especially since the use of
the terms Latino and Hispanic have in a sense, hijacked most academic and
public debates, and have contributed to a misappropriation of Latin America
as a monolithic, ethno-racial, Spanish-speaking cultural realm (Marcus, 2008,
2009b, 2011). Therefore, I evaluate a new ethnic geography of Brazilian immigration largely from without the Hispanic or Latino realm (see Oboler,
1995; Falconi & Mazzoti, 2007).

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A. Marcus

FIGURE 2 Map of Brazil (Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba). Note. Map by Paporn
Thebpanya. Figures 1 and 2 reprinted with permission from JCG Press, Oklahoma State
University. Marcus, Alan Patrick 2009. (Re)creating Places and Spaces in Two Countries:
Brazilian Transnational Migration Processes. Journal of Cultural Geography (26)2: 173198.

BACKGROUND AND THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS


Extensive mica and quartz extraction during World War II (Abreu, 1946),
particularly in Governador Valadares and region (Vale do Rio Doce), led
to the development of ongoing contacts between local residents and visiting American engineers and geologists at that time, and to subsequent first
migrations, particularly local upper-class youth in the 1960s, widely covered by local media during that time period (Siqueira, 2006). Additionally,
U.S. Protestant missionaries (mostly Pentecostals), had proselytized in those
regions, particularly in Piracanjuba in the 1970s and 1980s. Later, after the

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FIGURE 3 Estimates of Brazilians Residing in the Top 8 U.S. Metropolitan Areas: 2002 (Total
1.2 million Brazilians). Note. Since there was no consular office in Georgia until July 2008, and
with an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 Brazilian immigrants living in the Metro Atlanta region,
it is likely that the Miami consulate numbers are overinflated. If Atlanta were to be included
here, then it would be ranked in 4th or 5th in this list. Source: Brazilian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (2002).

U.S. missionaries left Brazil, locals in those regions who stayed in contact
with those missionaries also gained access to religious and labor market
networks (i.e., construction work or housecleaning) forged by these ties,
particularly in Atlanta, Georgia, generating and sustaining successive and
exponential migration flows to the United States.
When the exchange-rate of the Brazilian real to the U.S. dollar recently
reached a peak low in August 2007, at a rate of RS$1.94 to the U.S.$1, 25
cities in the region of Governador Valadares felt the economic impact and
experienced a significant halt in the real estate sectors and in local investments (Moreira, 2007). Brazilian immigrants send monthly financial remittances ranging from US$500 to US$1,000 back to their sending communities
(Siqueira, 2006, p. 25). Entire communities have become dependent on these
remittanceslocals call it Vala-dollar (U.S. dollar remittances to Governador
Valadares). When the U.S. dollar exchange-rate decreases, economic ripple
effects are felt throughout those sending communities generating financial
stagnation and resulting in a generalized local crisis (Moreira, 2007). These
examples illustrate the broader impact of transnational interactions affecting
local economies across formal borders.
Most Brazilian immigrants in the United States work in service sector
jobs; conducted only by the lowest socioeconomic populations in Brazil,
and carrying a strong negative social stigma in that country (e.g., empregada
or housecleaner, and pedreiro or construction worker). However, Brazilian
immigrants, unlike most Mexicans and Central Americans (Portes & Hoffman,
2003), are not fleeing a civil war, nor are they escaping rural dire poverty

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A. Marcus

(Margolis, 1994; Sales, 1998). I will show how Brazilian immigrants who
once occupied archetypal middle-class social spaces in Brazil (e.g., teacher,
clerk, policeman, bank teller, etc.) and had housecleaners of their own, now
occupy very different socioeconomic spaces after migrating to the United
States. However, for long-time Brazilian immigrant residents in the United
States, many have reverted to archetypal middle-class occupations.
After migrating to the United States, social class categories for Brazilian
immigrants become blurred and confusing for a number of reasons. Social
class is commonly characterized in the social sciences by differential access
to power-conferring resources and related life chances (Portes & Hoffman,
2003, p. 43). However, how does one categorize those Brazilian immigrants
who were considered lower-middle class or lower class in Brazil, and
after migrating to the United States generate over US$8,000 in monthly revenues as housecleaning business owners? Or those Brazilian immigrants who
were once lawyers, engineers, or physicians in Brazil, and, who after migrating (sometimes, as undocumented immigrants) to the United States, now
work as housecleaners, construction workers, or pizza-delivery drivers? A
good example of this caveat comes from one interviewee in Framingham.
She is college-educated and once afforded a full-time servant at her home
in Brazil, and now she cleans houses for a living in Framingham (she owns
her housecleaning business). This same individual had gone on vacation on
three separate occasions in 2007, including renting a villa in Northern Italy
with her husband. Which social class category fits this individual? In general,
social class may remain an important and dynamic socioeconomic indicator,
since it reflects income revenues as well as respective cultural, political, and
social capital levels imbued in those professions. However in this case, I
have not included it in my discussions on Brazilian immigration because of
its inherent limitations reflected by these important questions and caveats.
I use three theoretical approaches. First, I use a transnational approach
to focus on the significance of ongoing immigrants ties and loyalties to country of origin through various spatial, sociocultural, and financial processes
(e.g., Basch, Schiller & Blanc, 1995; Levitt, 2001, 2004, 2007; Tsuda, 1999).
Social activities and consumer behavior, for example, ranging from retrieving information from the World Wide Web and sending e-mails to drinking
Coca-Cola, wearing jeans, listening to pop music, and eating at McDonalds,
are no longer restricted to one single geographic location or culture, and
as Peggy Levitt informed us: the spread of global media has brought the
core to all the worlds peripheries. Many of todays migrants arrive partially
socialized into aspects of Western, if not North American culture (2001, p.
25). For example, a Brazilian immigrant man in Marietta told me during an
interview, I was Americanized when I lived Brazil. It was when I started to
live in America that I started to learn about my own country . . . . only then I
became Brazilianized! Therefore, instead of examining merely permanent
or temporary migration, transnational approaches provide alternate views

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on migration processes than span beyond strictly contained boundaries or


borders.
Transnational migration processes affect multiple social, political, and
economic activities where ties, connections, and loyalties engaged between
country of origin and country of destination occur beyond formal borders
(Basch et al., 1995). Peggy Levitt and Mary Waters summarized these processes by how ordinary individuals live their everyday lives across borders
and the consequences of their activities for sending-and receiving-country
life (2002, p. 8). In this article, I evaluate how economic transactions and
ethnic economies within migration corridors provide important examples of
transnational exchange flows.
In addition to a transnational approach, I explore the Brazilian immigrant component in the same vein as ethnic geographers who have evaluated
the shaping of new U.S. ethnic landscapes (e.g., Allen & Turner, 2009; Berry
& Henderson, 2002; Boswell & Jones, 2007; Constantinou, 2002; Frazier &
Tettey-Fio, 2006; Hardwick, 2006; Kaplan & Li, 2006; Li, 2006, 2007; Miyares & Airriess, 2007; Smith, 2006; Teixeira, 2006). This body of work is
quite broad, rich, and recent. Ethnic geographers contribute to the important
study of migration and ethnicity, and play a significant role in conveying the
spatial processes that occur within the multilayered dimensions of ethnicity
and place. Although there are many publications available on Brazilian migration (e.g., Almeida, 2003; Beserra, 2003; Goza, 1999; Margolis, 1994, 1995,
1998; Marrow, 2003, 2007; Martes, 2000; Sales, 1998; Siqueira, 2006; Tsuda,
1999), geographers have conducted very little research specifically on Brazilians, with some exceptions (e.g., Allen & Turner, 2004; Jackiewicz & Sun,
2003); I wish to fill this gap and contribute to this broad body of literature.
Finally, I concur with David Kaplan and Wei Lis statement, Ethnic
groups have the ability to imprint landscapes with their own meaning in
ways both evident and subtle (2006, p. 9). In this article I explore both
evident and subtle meanings of these ethnic economies. That is, I evaluate ethnic economies and geographies observable through surveys (i.e.,
primary and secondary quantitative data) as well as I take a deeper look
into how immigrants experience place by exploring the subtle meanings of
these economic changes incurred through migration processes (i.e., primary
qualitative data).

METHODS
I conducted fieldwork research (September 2006September 2007) in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Marietta, Georgia, United States (Figure 1); Governador Valadares, in the state of Minas Gerais; and, Piracanjuba, in the state
of Goias, Brazil (Figure 2).

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TABLE 1 Total Number of Individuals Interviewed, United States and Brazil, 20062007
United States
Interview Types
In-depth
Informal
Total

Brazil

Framingham

Marietta

Gov.Valadares

Piracanjuba

TOTAL

25
48
73

25
59
84

25
38
63

25
28
53

100
173
273

In-depth

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interviews consisted of two parts: (a) formal semi-structured interviews, and (b) formal structured interviews using a survey instrument.
Informal interviews consisted of unstructured informal interviews.

I used a survey instrument (20 questions) in 100 interviews conducted in


all four research locations (25 in each place) and selected qualitative narrative
extracts (i.e., vignettes) from a total of 273 formal and informal interviews
in all four research locations (Table 1). To supplement primary research
data I analyzed 1,200 application forms filled out by Brazilian immigrants
(estimated total of 20,000 forms since 1997) from 1999 to 2006 at a Catholic
Center run by Brazilians in Framingham providing services to the Brazilian
immigrant community. From these forms I selected at random a total of 400
application forms from 1999 to 2004 (40 women and 40 men for each year
between 1999 and 2004), along with a total of 800 application forms filled
out in 2005 and 2006 (200 women and 200 men for each year). I also used
secondary data to supplement primary data results.
Overall, I interviewed slightly more women (51%), than men (49%).
The average age of all interviewees was 42 years old (ranging from 1874
years of age). The average length of stay in the United States for all Brazilian
migrants interviewed was 7 years. Immigrants who remained in the United
States had been in the country an average of 10 years, while returnees
average stay in the United States was 5 years. Almost all interviewees had at
least one family member living in the United States prior to their departure
from Brazil, highlighting the importance of transnational social and religious
networks facilitating the migration process.
Immigrants from Goias (Goianos) made up a majority of the respondent sample in Marietta (36%), followed by immigrants from Minas Gerais
(Mineiros; 20%), Sao Paulo (Paulistas; 12%) and Rio de Janeiro (Cariocas;
8%). Goianos also made up the majority in Framingham (34%), followed by
immigrants from Parana (Paranaenses; 29%), Minas Gerais (25%), and Santa
Catarina (Catarinenses; 4%). Overall, 71% of my interviewees were documented (i.e., legally entered U.S. territory) and 29% were undocumented.
All returnees were born and residents in their respective sending communities. I only use first names of interviewees (pseudonyms) here, to protect
their anonymity.
The glaring undercount of Brazilian immigrants, discussed earlier, initially represented a statistical challenge for random sampling. To circumvent

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this methodological challenge, I used a snowball sampling technique (See


Margolis, 1994, p. xxi). Contacts generated in Marietta and Framingham provided important social and religious networks that were useful in Piracanjuba
and Governador Valadares later on in my research. These ongoing contacts
allowed for a continual flow of other successive contacts.
Since Massachusetts has been a long-standing destination for
Portuguese-speaking populations such as the Portuguese, Azorean, and Cape
Verdean communities, particularly in Fall River, New Bedford, Ludlow, and
Somerville (Adler, 1972); this fact may also help explain why so many Brazilians initially gravitated to this state, as the language-factor may have also
facilitated the migration process and later, with the subsequent development
of localized social and labor networks. I selected Governador Valadares
and Framingham because of their status as traditional sending and receiving communities respectively, and because they are well-established in the
literature as migration corridors (Almeida, 2003; Margolis, 1994, 1998; Sales,
1998; Siqueira, 2006).
During exploratory interviews, several Brazilian immigrants in Framingham, mostly from the states of Minas Gerais or Goias, informed me of their
relatives who had recently relocated to Marietta (many were from Piracanjuba). I also conducted exploratory research in Piracanjuba, and found out
that most interviewees were either returnees themselves, or had family members residing in the United States, mainly in Marietta or the Greater Atlanta
area. Hence my snowball sample in Marietta and Piracanjuba opened up
valuable research opportunities, and later, I also selected both as research
sites (unstudied until now).
Fieldwork and participant observation in sending communities were instrumental in providing a complete scope of the Brazilian migration process,
and interviews with returnees provided crucial information.3 Establishing
contacts and conducting research in the community of origin was extremely
helpful when I later conducted interviews in the United States, confirming
the work of Wayne Cornelius (1982). Therefore, site selection was based on
these migration corridors.

An Overview of Brazilian Entries into U.S. Territory


The period of 2000 to 2007 (Figure 4) represents the peak years for Brazilians who became legal permanent residents (LPR; 75,626 individuals; U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, 2006). This peak is by far the largest in
U.S. history, and in conjunction with other factors, likely to be a direct result of the U.S. political environment after the 9/11 attacks, exerting overt
pressure on all non-U.S. citizens, and particularly unauthorized immigrants.
The second largest number of Brazilians (50,744) who became LPRs occurred
during the period 1990 to1999, and possibly a direct outcome of the so-called

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A. Marcus

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FIGURE 4 Total Brazilians Obtaining Legal Permanent U.S. Resident Status: Fiscal Years
18202006. Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2006).

lost decade in Brazil (i.e., the Brazilian economic downfall in the mid- to
late-1980s). The third largest number (29,238) was reported during the period of 1960 to 1969 (coinciding with the height of the Brazilian military
dictatorship in Brazil lasting from 1964 to 1985).
Brazilians were second among the three largest unauthorized population percent increases from 2000 to 2006 (with an average annual population
change of 110%), after India (125%) and before Honduras (75%; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2005, p. 2). Brazilians are the fourth largest
national group of all individuals apprehended along the southern border
(representing 2.6% of all apprehensions), after Mexicans (86.1%), Hondurans
(4.4%), and El Salvadorians (3.3%), among others. Mexico began requiring
tourist visas for Brazilians in October 2005, reducing the number of apprehensions from more than 31,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2005 to an estimated
1,500 Brazilian apprehensions in 2006 (Reel, 2006, p. A22).
Moving beyond the entry into U.S. territory, in the following three sections I discuss selected interviews which explore transnational economic
interactions. In the last section, I discuss survey results which focus on
Brazilian occupations before and after migrating to the United States.

Experiencing Change
In this section I provide brief vignettes (i.e., excerpts from semistructured
interviews) to illustrate how socioeconomic spaces are experienced and negotiated by three Brazilian immigrants (two in Marietta, and one in Framingham), and one returnee (in Piracanjuba). Insights from these vignettes
and qualitative narratives provide an important context to survey results
discussed later.

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1. Like most Brazilian immigrant men in Framingham, Leandro, age 47, works
with painting, landscaping, and construction. He is a Mineiro. However,
he regrets his decision to migrate 10 years ago as he is now very unhappy,
and cannot return to Brazil now since he is still paying off his financial
debts incurred from expenses used to enter into U.S. territory. Leandro
worked for 4 years in construction, waking up at 4 a.m. daily; he told me
how he would wake up in his bed and stare at the ceiling before leaving to
work, wondering, what I am doing here? His boss at the construction site
requested that he gather other Brazilian immigrant workers and he was
responsible for driving them to the construction site. They would arrive at
the construction site at 7 a.m., and after working all day in construction,
he returned the Brazilian workers back to Framingham by 3:30 p.m. He
returned to his home by 5:30 p.m., and repeated this schedule, 6 days a
week, earning about US$700 (cash) weekly, while working an average of
10 to 12 hours daily for 65 to 70 hours weekly.
2. On the other hand, Jucara, age 47, originally from Goiania and now a
realtor in Marietta, explained how some Brazilians overestimate their predicted earnings in the United States, because they convert to Brazilian
currency, reais, without considering the high cost of living in the United
States. Nonetheless, sales in her real estate company are going well, as
she explained:
I went to close a sale for an apartment in Goiania here in Marietta with
this Brazilian woman for US$65,000. She bought the most expensive
one and paid her down payment with US$40,000 in cash! Turned out
she didnt even have a bank account.

3. Expanding on these transnational connections, newly formed networks


forged between Brazilian Pentecostal pastors and Brazilian immigrants
in sending and receiving communities fulfill an important role in new
migration networks. As Chico from Piracanjuba, age 47, a former pastor
who lives in Marietta explained:
I called my cousin, then her nephew came, then my sister and her
friend, and so one started to bring another from Brazil. I worked
for 5 years in construction with installation pipes. I worked with the
son of an American missionary that I had known in Goias. I was the
first employee of his company, now one of the largest installation
companies for Home Depot. I would make all the references of those
friends and family who I knew in Piracanjuba and recommended them,
and then afterwards they would bring others from over there.

Furthermore, Chicos case demonstrates the network connections


forged, for example, between U.S. missionaries from Georgia and Brazilian
immigrants from Piracanjuba, and how these ties result in the expansion

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A. Marcus

of construction work for men and housecleaning for women. Religious


networks facilitate the outreach of Brazilian business owners, especially
those who are Pentecostals, providing them with direct access and automatic entree into Brazilian immigrant markets through church memberships, and/or via business dissemination of church pastors, who are
often business owners themselves (Martes & Soares, 2006; Levitt, 2007).
Furthermore, religious institutions, particularly Pentecostal churches (e.g.,
Assembleia de Deus, Assembly of God) stand to gain on various levels
from acquiring new members (e.g., they require 10% to be collected from
each members monthly salary, the tithe) and therefore will tend to proselytize aggressively with the promise of helping newcomers in their migrant
trajectories.
4. Returnees often face challenges upon their return to Brazil. For example,
Bosco, age 33, a returnee in Piracanjuba, had paid US$12,000 to cross
into the U.S. territory. When he returned to Brazil, he bought a car and
furniture for his houseas returnees commonly do by engaging in conspicuous consumption to avoid the local social stigma of been perceived
as failures in their journey as immigrants. He worked on swimming
pools in Marietta, making an average of US$1,200 weekly, working a 6day week, 12 to 15 hours daily. He told me that he never left cash in his
apartment for fear that somebody might steal it, so he would carry sums
of up to US$3,000 wrapped in a plastic bag in his pocket, every day when
he worked, until ultimately wiring it back to Brazil. His descriptions about
cash exchange provide important glimpses into the magnitude of global
money transfers:
At one time I had US$6,000 in my pocket . . . I would wrap it in
a plastic bag so it would get ruined by my sweat. Other Brazilians
typically carry $2,000 in their pockets, until they wire it back to Brazil.
My friend once saved $100,000 in cash in the apartment. I didnt save
that much, because I always sent my money back to Brazil: US$2,000
to US$3,000 with a local remittance service.

After Bosco returned to Piracanjuba, he had no intentions of returning to


the United States for a second time, but the standard of living had increased
for him and his family as they had made so many purchases, buying new
furniture, cars, and clothes, and now they needed to maintain this standard
of living. His second trip to the United States exacerbated marital conflicts,
eventually prompting Bosco to return to Brazil in order to save his marriage.
Now he works for a local grain company and told me, I was glad to have
experienced America, but keeping my family was more important.

Brazilian Immigrant Taxes and Remittances


The following two interviews with Brazilian business ownersa tax house
owner in Framingham and a travel agency and remittance-wiring business

Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

69

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FIGURE 5 Average Brazilian Immigrant Income. Source: A Brazilian-owned tax business,


Framingham, Massachusetts.

owner in the Greater Atlanta areaprovide two more examples of how


Brazilian ethnic economies are being shaped by transnational migration processes. More importantly, such insider perspectives of Brazilian immigrant
income earnings and financial remittances provide another context to understanding subsequent primary survey results.
Ivan, a Mineiro, is the owner of a major income tax firm in Framingham,
where 90% of his clients are Brazilians. The other 10% are split between other
Latin American immigrants and U.S.-born citizens. He started his company in
1995 as an accounting and income tax firm, and his company has grown 20%
every year in the past 10 years. Today Ivan processes a total of 5,000 tax forms
in Framingham, and the other 4,000 processed by his other office branches
throughout the state. Ivan explained that the volume of tax declarations
increased since the 9/11 attacks: Brazilians then became more organized
because they didnt want any problems with immigration agencies or Internal
Revenue Services.
The average yearly individual earnings among Ivans Brazilian immigrant
clientele ranged between US$10,000 and US$60,000; where 50% individually earn, on average, US$50,000 to US$60,000, 20% individually make over
$60,000, and the remaining 30% individually earn US$10,000 to US$40,000
(Figure 5). These figures provide insights into how Brazilian immigrants are
impacting global and local financial landscapes.
According to a recent study, based on U.S. Census 2000, the median annual household income for Brazilians living in the United States
in 2000 was US$38,570, with 18% of all Brazilian households falling in
the US$50,000$74,999 range. Just over 9% of households earn between
US$74,999 and US$99,999 (Lima & Siqueira, 2008, p. 5). These national figures roughly overlap with those figures in Framingham provided by Ivan
(Figure 5). Brazilians contribute an estimated $4 billion annually to the U.S.
economy by spending on consumer goods and services (Lima & Siqueira
2008, p. 5).

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70

A. Marcus

Souto, age 40, is the owner of a successful Atlanta-based remittance and


travel agency. Most of his business focuses on airfare sales to Brazil (90%),
while financial remittances to Brazil represent a smaller component of his
business (10%). The highest number of airfare sales was to the state of Goias,
followed by: Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Pernambuco. Remittance amounts
range from US$300 to US$3,000, and most were sent to Goias (representing
75% of all financial remittances).
These new ethnic economies support the existence of important migration corridors operating between these four states in two countries, and
are shaping new transnational geographies. Furthermore, the previous evaluations show how Brazilian immigrants significantly contribute to the U.S.
economy. In fact, according to the U.S. Census 2000, Brazilian businesses
in the United States account for US$1 billion in yearly revenues and employ more than 10,400 people, contributing with US$108 million in state and
federal taxes (Lima & Siqueira, 2008, p. 5).

New Immigrant Banking Perspectives


Brazilian immigrants also help shape the banking sector. As a result, the
banking industry has attempted to tap into the Brazilian immigrant market. I use two examples next to highlight perspectives and insights on the
expansion of these new immigrant markets.
Felicia works for a subsidiary of a major U.S. bank that markets its
services to Latin Americans in the greater Atlanta areathe so-called Hispanic or Latino market. Although she is Colombian-born and does not speak
Portuguese, the bank assigned her to work within Mariettas large Brazilian
immigrant population locations. She told me she is trying to learn Portuguese
and more about Brazilian culture, but up to now has not really understood
the Brazilian immigrant mindset, because, as she puts it, is different from
Colombian culture. Her job entails the recruitment of Brazilian immigrants to
sign up for tax identifications. She explained that undocumented Brazilians
can register to pay their taxes and that they are eligible for tax returns, and
that 80% of her clientele are mostly Goianos. Obtaining a tax identification
number does not mean a replacement for a U.S. Social Security card; rather it
allows undocumented immigrants to buy a car, a house, and so on. All that is
required to register with the bank are two of the following options: passport,
consular matriculate, electoral card, drivers, birth or medical certificates, or
U.S. visa.
On the other hand, Alejandro, also Colombian-born, is a branch manager for another major U.S. bank in Marietta, condemns these predatory
bank practices upon unauthorized immigrants. According to Alejandro, retail banking represents 30% of the Latin American immigrant market share
in the United States, and, in Marietta, Brazilian immigrants represent 80% of
this market. He continued:

71

Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

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Most Brazilians will open a bank account, or look into a car loan, a
business loan. We are one of the primary mortgage holders in the U.S.
Brazilians are considered high risk customers and highly profitable financially . . . just like junk bonds, stocks. Most Brazilians that have accounts
here work with tile, construction, and are mostly from Goias . . . thats
how you say it, right? Goias?

He informed me how his Brazilian clients income levels vary, citing an


example of one customer of his who made over a million dollars in one
year, while another Brazilian client only made US$15,000. Currently, there
is only one Brazilian employee who speaks Portuguese at this bank branch,
and she is overloaded with work. These vignettes illustrate the broader side
of transnational interactions stemming from migration processes, providing
important qualitative insights from research fieldwork. Next I discuss occupations Brazilians had before they left Brazil, and occupations they held after
they arrived in the United States.

Survey Results: Occupations Before and After Migration


In this section I focus on quantitative insights from 100 survey interviews
(25 in each research site) using a survey instrument. All respondents were
asked to indicate their occupation after migrating to the United States (i.e.,
Brazilians in the United States; Table 2) and their occupation in Brazil prior
to migrating (i.e., Brazilians in Brazil; their occupations in Brazil; Table 3).
TABLE 2 Overall Percentage Breakdown by Occupation in the United States in Each Site
(i.e., Brazilians who work or worked in the United States)
Marietta

Construction
20
Business owner 16
Housecleaning
12
Teacher
8
Clerk
4
Accountant
4
Marketing
4
Editor
4
Engineer
4
Hairdresser
4
Travel agent
4
Journalist
4
Mechanic
4
Net
Administrator
4
Realtor
4
Totals
100
Source: Authors survey.

Framingham

Piracanjuba

Gov. Val.

Teacher
Housecleaning
Bank teller
Secretary
Business owner
Construction
Student
Groundsman
Manager
Missionary
Pastor
Realtor

16
12
12
12
12
8
8
4
4
4
4
4

Housecleaning
Construction
Pizza delivery
Student
Babysitter
Landscaping
None
Painting
Restaurant

32
24
16
8
4
4
4
4
4

Housecleaning
Construction
Roofer
Babysitter
Landscaping
Restaurant
Nurse
Journalist
McDonalds

32
20
12
8
8
8
4
4
4

100

100

100

72

A. Marcus

TABLE 3 Overall Percentage Breakdown by Occupation in Brazil (prior to migrating) in Each


Site (i.e., Brazilians in Brazil and their occupations in Brazil)

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Marietta

Sales
16
Student
16
Clerk
12
Architect
8
Business
8
owner
Teacher
8
Accountant
4
Bank teller
4
Engineer
4
Hairdresser
4
Housewife
4
Systems
4
analyst
Telephone
4
techinician
Travel agent
4

Totals
100

Framingham

Piracanjuba

Gov.Val.

Teacher
Student
Business owner
Clerk
Precious stones

28
16
12
12
8

Student
Clerk
Sales
State employee
Teacher

12
8
8
8
8

Sales
Clerk
Retired
Journalist
Teacher

16
16
12
8
8

Bank teller
Beautician
Dietician
Military police
Pedagogist
Sales

4
4
4
4
4
4

Artist
Business owner
Classical musician
Construction
Economist
Farmer owner
Gas Attendant

4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Welder
Bank Teller
Business owner
Lawyer
Military Police
Nurse
Seamstress

8
4
4
4
4
4
4

Lawyer

Student

100

Military Policeman
Moto-taxi
Policeman
Promoter
Rural worker
School Director

4
4
4
4
4
4
100

Unemployed

100

Source: Authors survey.

In general, after migrating, occupations in the service sectors (e.g., housecleaning, construction) were the largest, although in the case of Framingham,
teaching was the largest. On the other hand, predominating occupations prior
to migrating (Table 3) reflect archetypal middle-class positions (e.g., sales,
clerk, accountant, policeman, teacher, bank teller, journalist, etc.). These occupational shifts shed light on: (a) differences in socioeconomic spaces and
livelihoods; (b) the most-preferred Brazilian immigrant occupations in the
United States (i.e., Brazilians in the United States); and (c) the occupational
backgrounds of those Brazilians who migrate (i.e., Brazilians in Brazil).
In the breakdown for each site (Table 2), the highest figures for mostpreferred Brazilian immigrant occupations in Marietta were as follows: construction (20%), business owner (16%), housecleaning (12%), and, teacher
(8%). In Framingham, the occupation of teacher was the highest (16%); followed by business owner, housecleaning, bank teller, and secretary (12%);
and student and construction (8%). The high percentage for teachers in
Framingham (16%), suggests the high demand for bilingual (PortugueseEnglish) teachers in that community. Framingham is one of the oldest places
of Brazilian immigrant destination in the United States, with a large second
and third-generation Brazilian demographic, which also helps to explain
this high demand. The occupation of housecleaning (i.e., the work done as

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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

73

immigrants in the United States) was the highest among returnees in Piracanjuba (32%) and Governador Valadares (32%). Construction was the second
highest in Piracanjuba (24%); and in Governador Valadares (20%). There
were no business owners among returnees.
The occupation of construction (i.e., for work done in the United States)
in Governador Valadares was about two and a half times (20%) higher than
in Framingham (8%), but the same as Marietta (20%). In Piracanjuba (24%),
the occupation of construction was three times higher than construction in
Framingham (8%). Figures for the occupation of housecleaning for returnees
in Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba (32% for both), were over two
and a half times higher than figures for housecleaning in Framingham and
Marietta (12% for both).
These differences in the four research sites suggest that migrants who
eventually returned to Brazil were not as driven to develop deeper interpersonal networks outside of their own ethnic community while they lived in the
United States, and hence were confined within their own ethnic space, and
by extension, also confined to Brazilian immigrant market sectors and social networks, such as housecleaning and construction. However, long-time
immigrant residents have forged new social and religious networks outside
their own immigrant community, gaining access to other labor markets other
than housecleaning and construction. This is particularly noticeable, for example, in Framingham (the oldest place of destination), as the occupations
of teacher, business owner, secretary, and bank teller were among the highest, respectively. In addition, it is likely that housecleaning and construction
occupations become increasingly saturated in Framingham, prompting many
older immigrant residents to seek out other occupations, leaving housecleaning to newcomers. Conversely, since Marietta is still a relatively new place
of destination, with rampant new real estate developments and population
growth, the service sector may not have saturated yet and Brazilians are still
forging new interpersonal networks within the host community, which also
helps to explain why construction and housecleaning are among the highest
occupations in that city.
In general, those who returned to Brazil already had included in their
original migration strategy plan (before leaving Brazil) considerations of
working in traditional Brazilian immigrant occupations, such as housecleaning and construction, working 4 to 6 years in receiving communities,
and eventually returning to Brazil. Indeed, all migrants had prior knowledge
of the demand for these service sectors in receiving communities before
arriving in the United States.
Occupations in Brazil (Brazilians in Brazil: prior to U.S. arrival; Table
3) representing over 10% of responses in all four locations were as follows:
sales and student (16%), and clerk (12%) were the highest among Brazilians in Marietta; in Framingham, the occupation of teacher was the highest
(28%)which also helps to explain why the occupation teacher was also the

74

A. Marcus

highest in Framingham after migration occursfollowed by student (16%),


business owner (12%) and clerk (12%). In Piracanjuba, the occupation of
student (high school and college-level) was the highest (12%). Finally, the
occupations of sales and clerk (16%) were the highest in Governador Valadares, followed by retired (12%). The occupation of teacher was among
the highest in all four locations. Qualitative interviews showed that the majority of teachers interviewed conveyed a profound dissatisfaction with the
occupation of teaching in Brazil (e.g., in regards to salary, pension funds,

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TABLE 4 Total of 1,200 Application Forms, Total Number and Percentage of Total: Occupations Most Sought out by Brazilian Immigrant Women and Men in Framingham, 19992006
Male Occupations

Total

Painting
Construction
Any
Landscaping
Housecleaning
Driver
Carpentry
Waiter
Store attendant
Cook
Mechanic
Dishwasher
Roofing
Electrician
Rural work
Security guard
Bank teller
Engineer
Sales
Butcher
Clerk
Student
Factory work
Photographer
Airplane pilot
College professor
Welder
McDonalds
Computers
Film maker
Accounting
Economist
Plumber
Tourism
Computer work
Total

134
77
59
56
52
52
39
19
16
13
10
10
9
7
6
5
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
600

22.3
12.8
9.8
9.3
8.7
8.7
6.5
3.2
2.7
2.2
1.7
1.7
1.5
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
100

Female Occupations

Total

Housecleaning
Babysitter
Any
Teacher
Store attendant
Cook
Seamstress
Nurse
Student
Manicure
Hairdresser
Clerk
McDonalds
Bank teller
Restaurant
Accounting
Nutritionist
Psychologist
Dishwasher
Lawyer
Travel agent
Library work
Designer
Forest engineer
Physical therapist

Total

423
35
26
22
20
10
7
7
7
7
6
5
4
4
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1

600

70.5
5.8
4.3
3.7
3.3
1.7
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2

100

Source: Authors research results at Brazilian Center, Framingham.

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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

75

retirement, etc.), which helps to explain why so many left Brazil, as represented in this sample.
All immigrants (but one) were employed prior to leaving Brazil (Table 3). All occupations reflect archetypal middle to lower-middle socioeconomic backgrounds.
To complement and triangulate the previously evaluated primary research data, I also analyzed 1,200 job application forms filled out between
1999 to 2006 by Brazilian immigrants, which are archived at a Brazilian immigrant organization in Framingham (Table 4). This center is well-known
for providing assistance and help for Brazilian newcomers who seek residence and employment, and acts as a liaison between potential employers
and those seeking jobs. Occupations such as: painting (22%), construction
(13%), any (10%), landscaping (9%), housecleaning (9%), and driver (9%),
predominate among the most sought out jobs for Brazilian men. Housecleaning was overwhelmingly the most sought-out occupation for women (71%),
followed by babysitter (6%), any (4%) and teacher (4%). Service sector occupations, such as painting for men and housecleaning for women, were the
most popularly sought out jobs in all application forms (Table 4).
These results strongly suggest that most applicants, who arrive at the
center and select these desired sectors, have prior knowledge for their demand in receiving communities before their arrival in the United States.
Evaluations of U.S. Census 2000 figures (U.S. Census, 2000b) also provide helpful and complementary sources to these reviews (Table 5). The
highest figures for Brazilian immigrant occupations according to U.S. Census
2000, were: service occupations (30.3%), followed by management, professional, and related occupations (27.2%) and sales and office occupations
(19.4%).
Most Brazilian immigrants (documented or undocumented, and who
work informally within construction sectors) are largely undercounted by

TABLE 5 U.S. Census 2000: Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics. Population Universe: People Born in Brazil, Geographic Area: United States
Occupations

% of
Total

Service occupations
Management, professional, and related occupations
Sales and office occupations
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations
Construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
Total

30.3
27.2
19.4
11.8
11
0.3
100

Source: U.S. Census 2000b. Table FBP-2. Profile of Selected Economic Characteristics: 2000. Population Universe: People Born in Brazil. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/foreign/
datatbls.html

76

A. Marcus

U.S. Census figures (Margolis, 1995). Nonetheless, despite its discrepancies,


U.S. Census 2000 figures (Table 5) provide one dimension of the Brazilian
immigrant populationparticularly the authorized contingent. Brazilians are
the least represented in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (0.3%),
driving the point that most Brazilian immigrants do not work in rural or agricultural occupations, unlike most Mexican and Central American immigrants.

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CONCLUSION
This article has provided glimpses of new Brazilian immigrant ethnic
economies and of Brazilian immigrant socioeconomic spaces, livelihoods,
and experiences. These glimpses illustrate new ethnic geographies of nonSpanish-speaking Latin Americans in the United States. Brazilians mostly
work in service sector occupations such as construction and housecleaning
commonly viewed by the host communities as typically Brazilian occupations. By weaving though interview vignettes, along with primary and secondary data, I have empirically evaluated ethnic economies in two countries
and transnational Brazilian migration processes at the microlevel.
Those who returned to Brazil had not been as driven to develop
strong social networks outside of their own immigrant community space
as those who remained in the United States. The restricting socioeconomic
space (i.e., abstract space) confined them to housecleaning and construction occupations. However, those who remained in the United States developed stronger local networks outside their own immigrant community,
and by extension, they also gained additional access to other socioeconomic
spaces and occupational opportunities (e.g., bank teller, teacher, or business
owner).
The contexts and conditions of migration processes are multidimensional and complex, and they are generated and sustained by interrelated
transnational social and religious networksas illustrated earlier with an interview excerpt from Chico, the former pastor from Piracanjuba, now living
in Marietta.
Women tend to dominate the housecleaning sector and men
tend to work in the construction sectors (i.e., construction, painting,
landscaping)this statement is substantiated by combining evaluations of
U.S. Census data, primary survey results, as well as qualitative interviews.
Hence, I was able to triangulate my results and better assess Brazilian ethnic
economies. Furthermore, interview excerpts from Leandro and Jucaras experiences, evaluated earlier, illuminate the subtleties of how both Brazilian
immigrant men and women experience ethnic economies and the migration
process differently.
Those who remain in the United States long to one day return to Brazil.
Brazilians call this melancholic-type of longing saudades. Re-adaptation for

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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees

77

returnees in Brazil is generally difficult within family life, economic livelihoods, and there is a general sense of uprootedness. Some returnees go
back to the United States again, for another 4 or 6-year period, with the
intent to save enough money to eventually return to Brazil and purchase a
house, an apartment, a car, or start a new business. Some returnees who stay
in Brazil reminisce about the U.S. values and cultural norms, and wish to return again but fear the process of living as an unauthorized immigrant in the
United States. Some returnees are quite happy with their decision to remain
in Brazil. For example, through Boscos interview excerpt discussed earlier,
we learned how migration processes exacerbated his marital conflicts, and
in the end, keeping his family was more important.
Brazilian immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in various ways,
generating an estimated US$4 billion in annual revenues (Lima & Siqueira,
2008). Despite the significance of ethnic economies and financial exchanges,
it is important not to calcify Brazilian immigration one dimensionally. Brazilian migration processes should not be measured (i.e., aggregate benefits)
merely in economic terms, since other dimensions involve human costs,
however, not discussed here (e.g., family fragmentation, high divorce rates,
domestic violence, etc.). Nevertheless, migrants economic exchanges contribute conspicuously in the shaping of new transnational economies, affecting human geographies at the microlevel (e.g., livelihoods, experiences,
remittances) in both sending and receiving communities.

NOTES
1. Receiving communities refers to places of destination, and sending communities refers to
places of origin. Traditionally the term migrant is commonly used for internal migration in the literature
of migration studies, however, I use it here loosely in the context of international migration. I use the
term emigrant to refer to those Brazilians who are leaving Brazil, and, the term immigrant refers to those
Brazilians who have arrived or who are already residing in the United States. I use the term returnee to
refer to those Brazilian immigrants who have returned from the United States, and who now reside in
Brazil. Whenever I use the term returnee, it will always be in the context of Brazilian immigrants who
returned from the United States to Brazil.
2. Brazilian immigrants do not make only economic decisions when they decide to migrate, rather
they make decisions based on multiple and interrelated reasons (noneconomic as well as economic),
that are generated and sustained by social and religious networks (See Marcus, 2009a, on the role of the
geographical imagination in the migration process). For the purposes of this article, this statement will
suffice, and I have not discussed those other dimensions here.
3. Interviews with returnees in Brazil provided me with an entree into certain social circles upon
my return to receiving communities, as I also gained trust and rapport. First, they were more comfortable
during interviews to talk about sensitive areas of their immigrant experience (especially if undocumented)
simply by virtue of being interviewed inside their home country without the imminent fear of being
arrested and deported, and would offer me detailed insights. Second, many returnees were friends or
family members of my U.S. interviewees (which facilitated further generation of contacts and interviews
in receiving communities). Third, returnees were at a greater ease in providing sensitive information
about financial earnings and real estate or money transfers. Fourth, returnees provided visible examples
of their financial success or lack thereof, by inviting me into their large newly-built houses or businesses
(with money they had saved from U.S. remittances), or in the case of returnees who returned bankrupt,
into their tiny rented apartments or homes, devoid of any furniture.

78

A. Marcus

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