Brazilian Immigration To The United States And The Geographical Imagination*

Abstract

ABSTRACT. In the late 1980s more than 1 million Brazilians left Brazil without returning. Today an estimated 2 million Brazilians live abroad, 1.2 million of them in the United States. In this article I show that Brazilians migrate for a variety of reasons, including the geographical imagination. Why are so many Brazilians leaving for the United States? What are their geographical imaginations, and how are they described in their migration process? Using primary and secondary data and multiple methods, I address these questions by providing insights into Brazilian migrants' place perceptions, experiences, and reasons for migrating, focusing on the geographical imagination. Those migrants who end up returning to Brazil are more likely to cite financial and curiosity reasons for having migrated. A web of transnational religious and social networks sustains those immigrants who remain in the United States. Reasons for migrating are not economic alone; rather, they are based on interrelated and complex factors that range from adventure to curiosity, the cultural influence of the United States, family members, education, and escape.

Migration decision‐making: a geographical imaginations approach

“…() for the emergence of cultural approaches. Following this, the concept of geographical imaginations, which has been used in several studies examining migration decision‐making processes, is introduced (Marcus ; Riaño and Baghdadi ; Teo ). By drawing on fieldwork in the Philippines with nurses, I then outline the starting point for the field of application of a ‘geographical imaginations approach’.…”

Perceiving Migration in Emirdag: A Baudrillardian Perspective

“…In out contemporary world, every dimension of the social existence is in fact a complicated form of simulation, which is especially designed for the fragile reproduction of the political, economic and cultural (Luke, 1991, s.348). If migration taken into considiration within this context, it could be argued that migration is nourished with the dreams of reaching a land of prosperity, liberty and luxury and shaped by an imagined-European-lifestyle (Sahin Kütük, 2012; Marcus, 2009;Dominguez, 2014). However the previous researches reveak the fact that, the dreamed Europe and the actual social and working conditions the migrants find themselves in are completely the opposite (Şahin Kütük, 2012;Marcus, 2009;Dominguez, 2014).…”

“My Life was Filled with Constant Anxiety”: Anti-Immigrant Discrimination, Undocumented Status, and Their Mental Health Implications for Brazilian Immigrants

“…1 While men predominated in the earlier migration stream to the United States, Brazilian men and women have been migrating to the UnitedStates in equal numbers in recent years (JouetPastre and Braga 2008). Although Brazilians from various parts of Brazil have migrated to the United States, the majority come from a small city in the state of Minas Gerais called Governador Valadares and migrate to the northeastern United States (Margolis 1994;Martes 2000;Siqueira 2009;Marcus 2009). Governador Valadares (GV) has historically been the largest immigrant-sending city to the United States from Brazil, and the city has been socially, economically, and culturally influenced by US migration.…”

“…The goal of Brazilian immigrants, especially those from GV, is to ''Fazer a America,'' which translates literally to ''making'' or ''doing'' America. This process consists of migrating to the United States for 2-5 years and working in (primarily) unskilled jobs to earn and save as much money as possible for the return migration to Brazil (Martes 2008;CIAAT 2007;Siqueira 2009;Marcus 2009). Migrants hope that the money earned in the United States will allow them to buy a house or car and/or start a business.…”