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Experiencing Ethnic Economies: Brazilian Immigrants and
ReturneesAlan P. Marcusaa Department of Geography and Environmental
Planning, Towson University, Towson, Maryland,USA
Online publication date: 24 February 2011
To cite this Article Marcus, Alan P.(2011) 'Experiencing Ethnic
Economies: Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees', Journalof Immigrant
& Refugee Studies, 9: 1, 57 81To link to this Article: DOI:
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Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 9:5781,
2011Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1556-2948 print
/ 1556-2956 onlineDOI: 10.1080/15562948.2011.547826
Experiencing Ethnic Economies:Brazilian Immigrants and
Returnees
ALAN P. MARCUSDepartment of Geography and Environmental
Planning,
Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA
Brazilian immigrants in the United States experience
socioeco-nomic changes and engage in various professional
occupations.Migrant livelihoods and experiences are affected in two
receivingcommunities in the United States (Framingham,
Massachusetts,and Marietta, Georgia), and in two sending
communities in Brazil(Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba). What
are the most com-mon professional occupations among Brazilians
immigrants, andwhat were their professional occupations prior to
migrating? Howare immigrants livelihoods and experiences being
shaped by cur-rent economic exchanges spurred by immigration? I
evaluate theseimportant questions by looking at changes at the
micro-level, withinmigrants occupations, experiences, and economic
transactions. Byweaving though survey results and excerpts from a
total of 273 in-terviews in two receiving communities and returnees
in two sendingcommunities, I illustrate how migration processes
have significantlyaffected ethnic economies and livelihoods at the
micro-level in bothreceiving and sending communities. Most
returnees had workedin service sector occupations, such as
construction work amongmen, and housecleaning among women; and,
among those whoremained in the United States, became business
owners, teachers,or continued to work within service sectors.
KEYWORDS Brazilian immigration, ethnic economies, ethnic
ge-ography, return migration, transnationalism
Address correspondence to Alan P. Marcus, PhD, Department of
Geography and En-vironmental Planning, Towson University, 8000 York
Rd., Towson, MD 21252-0001. E-mail:[email protected]
57
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58 A. Marcus
INTRODUCTION
The influx of recent immigrants1 to the United States in the
past four decadeshas transformed U.S. ethnic landscapes and
economies in various significantways (Berry & Henderson, 2003;
Frazier & Tettey-Fio, 2006; Kaplan & Li,2006; Miyares &
Airriess, 2007). Since the implementation of the U.S. Immi-gration
and Nationality Act of 1965, which removed national quotas
favoringEuropean immigration, Latin American immigration to the
United States in-creased notably (Sierra, Carrillo, DeSipio, &
Jones-Correa, 2000, p. 536).Today, Brazilian immigrants are second
among the three largest U.S. unau-thorized population percent
increases from 2000 to 2006, with an averageannual 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 countedonly 212,428 Brazilians (U.S. Department of Commerce,
2000a, 2000b), andthe 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 in2004, representing about 1% of the Brazilian gross
domestic product (GDP),
FIGURE 1 Map of the United States (Framingham and Marietta)
Note. Map by Paporn Theb-panya.
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 59
however; because most of these remittances were sent informally,
the Brazil-ian Central Bank (Banco Central) officially registered
only US$2.4 million inremittances for the same year (Martes &
Soares, 2006). Rather than engage inexhaustive theoretical or
comprehensive economic analyses of Brazilian im-migrant economies,2
I provide glimpses at the micro-level of such economicactivities by
highlighting Brazilian immigrant livelihoods, experiences,
andoccupations, before and after migration occurs. These results
are nongeneral-izable, as they were not originally intended to
statistically represent Brazilianimmigrant populations at the
macro-levelparticularly since the great ma-jority (estimated at
over 75%) of the Brazilian immigrant population in theUnited States
is undocumented (Margolis, 1994; Sales, 1998). The objectiveof this
study was to evaluate an older migration corridor between
Gover-nador Valadares and Framingham, well-established in the
literature (Almeida,2003; Margolis, 1994, 1998; Sales, 1998;
Siqueira, 2006), and a more recentmigration corridor between
Piracanjuba and Marietta, unstudied until now(Figures 1 and 2).
What are the most common Brazilian immigrant occupations in two
re-ceiving communities of Framingham, Massachusetts, and Marietta,
Georgia,in the United States; and, what were the most common
occupations prior tomigrating in two sending communities of
Governador Valadares and Pira-canjuba in Brazil? How are economic
exchanges and immigrant livelihoodsbeing shaped by migration
processes? How are immigrants and returnees ex-periencing economic
changes? Using multiple methods, (including primaryand secondary
data analysis; Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967), I
ad-dress 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.
metropoli-tan areas (Figure 3), Brazilians remain largely unknown
to the generalU.S. public. Disproportionate emphasis placed on
Spanish-speaking Amer-ica within U.S. academia and disseminated
within U.S. public discourses,have contributed to minimizing the
presence of Brazilian immigrants in theUnited States. Moreover,
references to the terms Hispanic and Latino areproblematic. 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
LatinAmericans speaks Portuguesenot Spanish. Brazil deserves a
much-needed(re)insertion within U.S.-Latin American dialogues,
especially since the use ofthe terms Latino and Hispanic have in a
sense, hijacked most academic andpublic debates, and have
contributed to a misappropriation of Latin Americaas a monolithic,
ethno-racial, Spanish-speaking cultural realm (Marcus, 2008,2009b,
2011). Therefore, I evaluate a new ethnic geography of Brazilian
im-migration largely from without the Hispanic or Latino realm (see
Oboler,1995; Falconi & Mazzoti, 2007).
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60 A. Marcus
FIGURE 2 Map of Brazil (Governador Valadares and Piracanjuba).
Note. Map by PapornThebpanya. Figures 1 and 2 reprinted with
permission from JCG Press, Oklahoma StateUniversity. 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), ledto the development of ongoing contacts between local
residents and visit-ing American engineers and geologists at that
time, and to subsequent firstmigrations, particularly local
upper-class youth in the 1960s, widely cov-ered by local media
during that time period (Siqueira, 2006). Additionally,U.S.
Protestant missionaries (mostly Pentecostals), had proselytized in
thoseregions, particularly in Piracanjuba in the 1970s and 1980s.
Later, after the
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 61
FIGURE 3 Estimates of Brazilians Residing in the Top 8 U.S.
Metropolitan Areas: 2002 (Total1.2 million Brazilians). Note. Since
there was no consular office in Georgia until July 2008, andwith 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 includedhere, then it would be
ranked in 4th or 5th in this list. Source: Brazilian Ministry of
ForeignAffairs (2002).
U.S. missionaries left Brazil, locals in those regions who
stayed in contactwith those missionaries also gained access to
religious and labor marketnetworks (i.e., construction work or
housecleaning) forged by these ties,particularly in Atlanta,
Georgia, generating and sustaining successive andexponential
migration flows to the United States.
When the exchange-rate of the Brazilian real to the U.S. dollar
recentlyreached a peak low in August 2007, at a rate of RS$1.94 to
the U.S.$1, 25cities in the region of Governador Valadares felt the
economic impact andexperienced a significant halt in the real
estate sectors and in local invest-ments (Moreira, 2007). Brazilian
immigrants send monthly financial remit-tances ranging from US$500
to US$1,000 back to their sending communities(Siqueira, 2006, p.
25). Entire communities have become dependent on
theseremittanceslocals call it Vala-dollar (U.S. dollar remittances
to GovernadorValadares). When the U.S. dollar exchange-rate
decreases, economic rippleeffects are felt throughout those sending
communities generating financialstagnation and resulting in a
generalized local crisis (Moreira, 2007). Theseexamples illustrate
the broader impact of transnational interactions affectinglocal
economies across formal borders.
Most Brazilian immigrants in the United States work in service
sectorjobs; conducted only by the lowest socioeconomic populations
in Brazil,and carrying a strong negative social stigma in that
country (e.g., empregadaor housecleaner, and pedreiro or
construction worker). However, Brazilianimmigrants, 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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62 A. Marcus
(Margolis, 1994; Sales, 1998). I will show how Brazilian
immigrants whoonce occupied archetypal middle-class social spaces
in Brazil (e.g., teacher,clerk, policeman, bank teller, etc.) and
had housecleaners of their own, nowoccupy very different
socioeconomic spaces after migrating to the UnitedStates. However,
for long-time Brazilian immigrant residents in the UnitedStates,
many have reverted to archetypal middle-class occupations.
After migrating to the United States, social class categories
for Brazilianimmigrants become blurred and confusing for a number
of reasons. Socialclass is commonly characterized in the social
sciences by differential accessto power-conferring resources and
related life chances (Portes & Hoffman,2003, p. 43). However,
how does one categorize those Brazilian immigrantswho were
considered lower-middle class or lower class in Brazil, andafter
migrating to the United States generate over US$8,000 in monthly
rev-enues as housecleaning business owners? Or those Brazilian
immigrants whowere once lawyers, engineers, or physicians in
Brazil, and, who after migrat-ing (sometimes, as undocumented
immigrants) to the United States, nowwork as housecleaners,
construction workers, or pizza-delivery drivers? Agood example of
this caveat comes from one interviewee in Framingham.She is
college-educated and once afforded a full-time servant at her
homein Brazil, and now she cleans houses for a living in Framingham
(she ownsher housecleaning business). This same individual had gone
on vacation onthree separate occasions in 2007, including renting a
villa in Northern Italywith 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,
andsocial capital levels imbued in those professions. However in
this case, Ihave not included it in my discussions on Brazilian
immigration because ofits inherent limitations reflected by these
important questions and caveats.
I use three theoretical approaches. First, I use a transnational
approachto focus on the significance of ongoing immigrants ties and
loyalties to coun-try 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
retriev-ing information from the World Wide Web and sending e-mails
to drinkingCoca-Cola, wearing jeans, listening to pop music, and
eating at McDonalds,are no longer restricted to one single
geographic location or culture, andas Peggy Levitt informed us: the
spread of global media has brought thecore to all the worlds
peripheries. Many of todays migrants arrive partiallysocialized
into aspects of Western, if not North American culture (2001,
p.25). For example, a Brazilian immigrant man in Marietta told me
during aninterview, I was Americanized when I lived Brazil. It was
when I started tolive in America that I started to learn about my
own country . . . . only then Ibecame Brazilianized! Therefore,
instead of examining merely permanentor temporary migration,
transnational approaches provide alternate views
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 63
on migration processes than span beyond strictly contained
boundaries orborders.
Transnational migration processes affect multiple social,
political, andeconomic activities where ties, connections, and
loyalties engaged betweencountry of origin and country of
destination occur beyond formal borders(Basch et al., 1995). Peggy
Levitt and Mary Waters summarized these pro-cesses by how ordinary
individuals live their everyday lives across bordersand the
consequences of their activities for sending-and
receiving-countrylife (2002, p. 8). In this article, I evaluate how
economic transactions andethnic economies within migration
corridors provide important examples oftransnational exchange
flows.
In addition to a transnational approach, I explore the Brazilian
immi-grant component in the same vein as ethnic geographers who
have evaluatedthe 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; Mi-yares
& Airriess, 2007; Smith, 2006; Teixeira, 2006). This body of
work isquite broad, rich, and recent. Ethnic geographers contribute
to the importantstudy of migration and ethnicity, and play a
significant role in conveying thespatial processes that occur
within the multilayered dimensions of ethnicityand place. Although
there are many publications available on Brazilian mi-gration
(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 Brazil-ians, 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,
Ethnicgroups have the ability to imprint landscapes with their own
meaning inways both evident and subtle (2006, p. 9). In this
article I explore bothevident and subtle meanings of these ethnic
economies. That is, I eval-uate ethnic economies and geographies
observable through surveys (i.e.,primary and secondary quantitative
data) as well as I take a deeper lookinto how immigrants experience
place by exploring the subtle meanings ofthese economic changes
incurred through migration processes (i.e., primaryqualitative
data).
METHODS
I conducted fieldwork research (September 2006September 2007) in
Fram-ingham, Massachusetts, and Marietta, Georgia, United States
(Figure 1); Gov-ernador Valadares, in the state of Minas Gerais;
and, Piracanjuba, in the stateof Goias, Brazil (Figure 2).
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64 A. Marcus
TABLE 1 Total Number of Individuals Interviewed, United States
and Brazil, 20062007
United States Brazil
Interview Types Framingham Marietta Gov.Valadares Piracanjuba
TOTAL
In-depth 25 25 25 25 100Informal 48 59 38 28 173Total 73 84 63
53 273
In-depth interviews consisted of two parts: (a) formal
semi-structured interviews, and (b) formal struc-tured interviews
using a survey instrument.Informal interviews consisted of
unstructured informal interviews.
I used a survey instrument (20 questions) in 100 interviews
conducted inall four research locations (25 in each place) and
selected qualitative narrativeextracts (i.e., vignettes) from a
total of 273 formal and informal interviewsin all four research
locations (Table 1). To supplement primary researchdata 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 CatholicCenter run by Brazilians in Framingham providing
services to the Brazilianimmigrant community. From these forms I
selected at random a total of 400application forms from 1999 to
2004 (40 women and 40 men for each yearbetween 1999 and 2004),
along with a total of 800 application forms filledout in 2005 and
2006 (200 women and 200 men for each year). I also usedsecondary
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 1874years of age). The average length of stay in the United
States for all Brazilianmigrants interviewed was 7 years.
Immigrants who remained in the UnitedStates had been in the country
an average of 10 years, while returneesaverage stay in the United
States was 5 years. Almost all interviewees had atleast one family
member living in the United States prior to their departurefrom
Brazil, highlighting the importance of transnational social and
religiousnetworks facilitating the migration process.
Immigrants from Goias (Goianos) made up a majority of the
respon-dent 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 byimmigrants from Parana (Paranaenses;
29%), Minas Gerais (25%), and SantaCatarina (Catarinenses; 4%).
Overall, 71% of my interviewees were docu-mented (i.e., legally
entered U.S. territory) and 29% were undocumented.All returnees
were born and residents in their respective sending commu-nities. I
only use first names of interviewees (pseudonyms) here, to
protecttheir anonymity.
The glaring undercount of Brazilian immigrants, discussed
earlier, ini-tially represented a statistical challenge for random
sampling. To circumvent
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 65
this methodological challenge, I used a snowball sampling
technique (SeeMargolis, 1994, p. xxi). Contacts generated in
Marietta and Framingham pro-vided important social and religious
networks that were useful in Piracanjubaand Governador Valadares
later on in my research. These ongoing contactsallowed for a
continual flow of other successive contacts.
Since Massachusetts has been a long-standing destination
forPortuguese-speaking populations such as the Portuguese, Azorean,
and CapeVerdean communities, particularly in Fall River, New
Bedford, Ludlow, andSomerville (Adler, 1972); this fact may also
help explain why so many Brazil-ians initially gravitated to this
state, as the language-factor may have alsofacilitated the
migration process and later, with the subsequent developmentof
localized social and labor networks. I selected Governador
Valadaresand Framingham because of their status as traditional
sending and receiv-ing communities respectively, and because they
are well-established in theliterature as migration corridors
(Almeida, 2003; Margolis, 1994, 1998; Sales,1998; Siqueira,
2006).
During exploratory interviews, several Brazilian immigrants in
Framing-ham, mostly from the states of Minas Gerais or Goias,
informed me of theirrelatives who had recently relocated to
Marietta (many were from Piracan-juba). I also conducted
exploratory research in Piracanjuba, and found outthat most
interviewees were either returnees themselves, or had family
mem-bers residing in the United States, mainly in Marietta or the
Greater Atlantaarea. Hence my snowball sample in Marietta and
Piracanjuba opened upvaluable research opportunities, and later, I
also selected both as researchsites (unstudied until now).
Fieldwork and participant observation in sending communities
were in-strumental in providing a complete scope of the Brazilian
migration process,and interviews with returnees provided crucial
information.3 Establishingcontacts and conducting research in the
community of origin was extremelyhelpful when I later conducted
interviews in the United States, confirmingthe work of Wayne
Cornelius (1982). Therefore, site selection was based onthese
migration corridors.
An Overview of Brazilian Entries into U.S. Territory
The period of 2000 to 2007 (Figure 4) represents the peak years
for Brazil-ians who became legal permanent residents (LPR; 75,626
individuals; U.S.Department of Homeland Security, 2006). This peak
is by far the largest inU.S. history, and in conjunction with other
factors, likely to be a direct re-sult of the U.S. political
environment after the 9/11 attacks, exerting overtpressure on all
non-U.S. citizens, and particularly unauthorized immigrants.The
second largest number of Brazilians (50,744) who became LPRs
occurredduring the period 1990 to1999, and possibly a direct
outcome of the so-called
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66 A. Marcus
FIGURE 4 Total Brazilians Obtaining Legal Permanent U.S.
Resident Status: Fiscal Years18202006. Source: U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (2006).
lost decade in Brazil (i.e., the Brazilian economic downfall in
the mid- tolate-1980s). The third largest number (29,238) was
reported during the pe-riod of 1960 to 1969 (coinciding with the
height of the Brazilian militarydictatorship in Brazil lasting from
1964 to 1985).
Brazilians were second among the three largest unauthorized
popula-tion percent increases from 2000 to 2006 (with an average
annual populationchange of 110%), after India (125%) and before
Honduras (75%; U.S. De-partment of Homeland Security, 2005, p. 2).
Brazilians are the fourth largestnational 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 requiringtourist
visas for Brazilians in October 2005, reducing the number of
appre-hensions from more than 31,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2005
to an estimated1,500 Brazilian apprehensions in 2006 (Reel, 2006,
p. A22).
Moving beyond the entry into U.S. territory, in the following
three sec-tions I discuss selected interviews which explore
transnational economicinteractions. In the last section, I discuss
survey results which focus onBrazilian occupations before and after
migrating to the United States.
Experiencing Change
In this section I provide brief vignettes (i.e., excerpts from
semistructuredinterviews) to illustrate how socioeconomic spaces
are experienced and ne-gotiated by three Brazilian immigrants (two
in Marietta, and one in Fram-ingham), and one returnee (in
Piracanjuba). Insights from these vignettesand qualitative
narratives provide an important context to survey resultsdiscussed
later.
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 67
1. Like most Brazilian immigrant men in Framingham, Leandro, age
47, workswith 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 financialdebts incurred from expenses used to
enter into U.S. territory. Leandroworked for 4 years in
construction, waking up at 4 a.m. daily; he told mehow he would
wake up in his bed and stare at the ceiling before leaving towork,
wondering, what I am doing here? His boss at the construction
siterequested that he gather other Brazilian immigrant workers and
he wasresponsible for driving them to the construction site. They
would arrive atthe 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. Hereturned to his home by 5:30 p.m., and
repeated this schedule, 6 days aweek, earning about US$700 (cash)
weekly, while working an average of10 to 12 hours daily for 65 to
70 hours weekly.
2. On the other hand, Jucara, age 47, originally from Goiania
and now arealtor in Marietta, explained how some Brazilians
overestimate their pre-dicted earnings in the United States,
because they convert to Braziliancurrency, reais, without
considering the high cost of living in the UnitedStates.
Nonetheless, sales in her real estate company are going well, asshe
explained:
I went to close a sale for an apartment in Goiania here in
Marietta withthis Brazilian woman for US$65,000. She bought the
most expensiveone and paid her down payment with US$40,000 in cash!
Turned outshe didnt even have a bank account.
3. Expanding on these transnational connections, newly formed
networksforged between Brazilian Pentecostal pastors and Brazilian
immigrantsin sending and receiving communities fulfill an important
role in newmigration networks. As Chico from Piracanjuba, age 47, a
former pastorwho lives in Marietta explained:
I called my cousin, then her nephew came, then my sister and
herfriend, and so one started to bring another from Brazil. I
workedfor 5 years in construction with installation pipes. I worked
with theson of an American missionary that I had known in Goias. I
was thefirst employee of his company, now one of the largest
installationcompanies for Home Depot. I would make all the
references of thosefriends 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
connectionsforged, for example, between U.S. missionaries from
Georgia and Brazilianimmigrants from Piracanjuba, and how these
ties result in the expansion
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68 A. Marcus
of construction work for men and housecleaning for women.
Religiousnetworks facilitate the outreach of Brazilian business
owners, especiallythose who are Pentecostals, providing them with
direct access and au-tomatic entree into Brazilian immigrant
markets through church mem-berships, and/or via business
dissemination of church pastors, who areoften 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
levelsfrom acquiring new members (e.g., they require 10% to be
collected fromeach members monthly salary, the tithe) and therefore
will tend to prose-lytize aggressively with the promise of helping
newcomers in their migranttrajectories.
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 crossinto the U.S. territory. When he returned to
Brazil, he bought a car andfurniture for his houseas returnees
commonly do by engaging in con-spicuous consumption to avoid the
local social stigma of been perceivedas failures in their journey
as immigrants. He worked on swimmingpools in Marietta, making an
average of US$1,200 weekly, working a 6-day week, 12 to 15 hours
daily. He told me that he never left cash in hisapartment for fear
that somebody might steal it, so he would carry sumsof up to
US$3,000 wrapped in a plastic bag in his pocket, every day whenhe
worked, until ultimately wiring it back to Brazil. His descriptions
aboutcash exchange provide important glimpses into the magnitude of
globalmoney transfers:
At one time I had US$6,000 in my pocket . . . I would wrap it
ina plastic bag so it would get ruined by my sweat. Other
Brazilianstypically 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 savethat much, because I always sent my money
back to Brazil: US$2,000to US$3,000 with a local remittance
service.
After Bosco returned to Piracanjuba, he had no intentions of
returning tothe United States for a second time, but the standard
of living had increasedfor him and his family as they had made so
many purchases, buying newfurniture, cars, and clothes, and now
they needed to maintain this standardof 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 haveexperienced America, but keeping my family was more
important.
Brazilian Immigrant Taxes and Remittances
The following two interviews with Brazilian business ownersa tax
houseowner in Framingham and a travel agency and remittance-wiring
business
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 69
FIGURE 5 Average Brazilian Immigrant Income. Source: A
Brazilian-owned tax business,Framingham, Massachusetts.
owner in the Greater Atlanta areaprovide two more examples of
howBrazilian ethnic economies are being shaped by transnational
migration pro-cesses. More importantly, such insider perspectives
of Brazilian immigrantincome earnings and financial remittances
provide another context to under-standing 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 otherLatin American immigrants and U.S.-born
citizens. He started his company in1995 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 formsin
Framingham, and the other 4,000 processed by his other office
branchesthroughout the state. Ivan explained that the volume of tax
declarationsincreased since the 9/11 attacks: Brazilians then
became more organizedbecause they didnt want any problems with
immigration agencies or InternalRevenue Services.
The average yearly individual earnings among Ivans Brazilian
immigrantclientele ranged between US$10,000 and US$60,000; where
50% individu-ally 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 areimpacting global and
local financial landscapes.
According to a recent study, based on U.S. Census 2000, the
me-dian annual household income for Brazilians living in the United
Statesin 2000 was US$38,570, with 18% of all Brazilian households
falling inthe US$50,000$74,999 range. Just over 9% of households
earn betweenUS$74,999 and US$99,999 (Lima & Siqueira, 2008, p.
5). These national fig-ures 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 & Siqueira2008, p. 5).
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70 A. Marcus
Souto, age 40, is the owner of a successful Atlanta-based
remittance andtravel agency. Most of his business focuses on
airfare sales to Brazil (90%),while financial remittances to Brazil
represent a smaller component of hisbusiness (10%). The highest
number of airfare sales was to the state of Goias,followed by:
Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Pernambuco. Remittance amountsrange
from US$300 to US$3,000, and most were sent to Goias
(representing75% of all financial remittances).
These new ethnic economies support the existence of important
mi-gration corridors operating between these four states in two
countries, andare shaping new transnational geographies.
Furthermore, the previous eval-uations show how Brazilian
immigrants significantly contribute to the U.S.economy. In fact,
according to the U.S. Census 2000, Brazilian businessesin the
United States account for US$1 billion in yearly revenues and
em-ploy more than 10,400 people, contributing with US$108 million
in state andfederal taxes (Lima & Siqueira, 2008, p. 5).
New Immigrant Banking Perspectives
Brazilian immigrants also help shape the banking sector. As a
result, thebanking industry has attempted to tap into the Brazilian
immigrant mar-ket. I use two examples next to highlight
perspectives and insights on theexpansion of these new immigrant
markets.
Felicia works for a subsidiary of a major U.S. bank that markets
itsservices to Latin Americans in the greater Atlanta areathe
so-called His-panic or Latino market. Although she is
Colombian-born and does not speakPortuguese, the bank assigned her
to work within Mariettas large Brazilianimmigrant population
locations. She told me she is trying to learn Portugueseand more
about Brazilian culture, but up to now has not really understoodthe
Brazilian immigrant mindset, because, as she puts it, is different
fromColombian culture. Her job entails the recruitment of Brazilian
immigrants tosign up for tax identifications. She explained that
undocumented Brazilianscan register to pay their taxes and that
they are eligible for tax returns, andthat 80% of her clientele are
mostly Goianos. Obtaining a tax identificationnumber does not mean
a replacement for a U.S. Social Security card; rather itallows
undocumented immigrants to buy a car, a house, and so on. All that
isrequired to register with the bank are two of the following
options: passport,consular matriculate, electoral card, drivers,
birth or medical certificates, orU.S. visa.
On the other hand, Alejandro, also Colombian-born, is a branch
man-ager for another major U.S. bank in Marietta, condemns these
predatorybank practices upon unauthorized immigrants. According to
Alejandro, re-tail banking represents 30% of the Latin American
immigrant market sharein the United States, and, in Marietta,
Brazilian immigrants represent 80% ofthis market. He continued:
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Brazilian Immigrants and Returnees 71
Most Brazilians will open a bank account, or look into a car
loan, abusiness loan. We are one of the primary mortgage holders in
the U.S.Brazilians are considered high risk customers and highly
profitable finan-cially . . . just like junk bonds, stocks. Most
Brazilians that have accountshere work with tile, construction, and
are mostly from Goias . . . thatshow you say it, right? Goias?
He informed me how his Brazilian clients income levels vary,
citing anexample of one customer of his who made over a million
dollars in oneyear, while another Brazilian client only made
US$15,000. Currently, thereis only one Brazilian employee who
speaks Portuguese at this bank branch,and she is overloaded with
work. These vignettes illustrate the broader sideof transnational
interactions stemming from migration processes, providingimportant
qualitative insights from research fieldwork. Next I discuss
occu-pations Brazilians had before they left Brazil, and
occupations they held afterthey 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 wereasked to indicate their occupation after migrating
to the United States (i.e.,Brazilians in the United States; Table
2) and their occupation in Brazil priorto 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 % Framingham % Piracanjuba % Gov. Val. %
Construction 20 Teacher 16 Housecleaning 32 Housecleaning
32Business owner 16 Housecleaning 12 Construction 24 Construction
20Housecleaning 12 Bank teller 12 Pizza delivery 16 Roofer
12Teacher 8 Secretary 12 Student 8 Babysitter 8Clerk 4 Business
owner 12 Babysitter 4 Landscaping 8Accountant 4 Construction 8
Landscaping 4 Restaurant 8Marketing 4 Student 8 None 4 Nurse
4Editor 4 Groundsman 4 Painting 4 Journalist 4Engineer 4 Manager 4
Restaurant 4 McDonalds 4Hairdresser 4 Missionary 4 Travel agent 4
Pastor 4 Journalist 4 Realtor 4 Mechanic 4 Net Administrator
4Realtor 4 Totals 100 100 100 100
Source: Authors survey.
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72 A. Marcus
TABLE 3 Overall Percentage Breakdown by Occupation in Brazil
(prior to migrating) in EachSite (i.e., Brazilians in Brazil and
their occupations in Brazil)
Marietta % Framingham % Piracanjuba % Gov.Val. %
Sales 16 Teacher 28 Student 12 Sales 16Student 16 Student 16
Clerk 8 Clerk 16Clerk 12 Business owner 12 Sales 8 Retired
12Architect 8 Clerk 12 State employee 8 Journalist 8Business 8
Precious stones 8 Teacher 8 Teacher 8
ownerTeacher 8 Bank teller 4 Artist 4 Welder 8Accountant 4
Beautician 4 Business owner 4 Bank Teller 4Bank teller 4 Dietician
4 Classical musician 4 Business owner 4Engineer 4 Military police 4
Construction 4 Lawyer 4Hairdresser 4 Pedagogist 4 Economist 4
Military Police 4Housewife 4 Sales 4 Farmer owner 4 Nurse 4Systems
4 Gas Attendant 4 Seamstress 4
analystTelephone 4 Lawyer 4 Student 4
techinicianTravel agent 4 Military Policeman 4 Unemployed 4
Moto-taxi 4 Policeman 4 Promoter 4 Rural worker 4 School
Director 4
Totals 100 100 100 100
Source: Authors survey.
In general, after migrating, occupations in the service sectors
(e.g., house-cleaning, construction) were the largest, although in
the case of Framingham,teaching was the largest. On the other hand,
predominating occupations priorto migrating (Table 3) reflect
archetypal middle-class positions (e.g., sales,clerk, accountant,
policeman, teacher, bank teller, journalist, etc.). These
oc-cupational shifts shed light on: (a) differences in
socioeconomic spaces andlivelihoods; (b) the most-preferred
Brazilian immigrant occupations in theUnited States (i.e.,
Brazilians in the United States); and (c) the
occupationalbackgrounds of those Brazilians who migrate (i.e.,
Brazilians in Brazil).
In the breakdown for each site (Table 2), the highest figures
for most-preferred Brazilian immigrant occupations in Marietta were
as follows: con-struction (20%), business owner (16%),
housecleaning (12%), and, teacher(8%). In Framingham, the
occupation of teacher was the highest (16%); fol-lowed by business
owner, housecleaning, bank teller, and secretary (12%);and student
and construction (8%). The high percentage for teachers
inFramingham (16%), suggests the high demand for bilingual
(Portuguese-English) teachers in that community. Framingham is one
of the oldest placesof Brazilian immigrant destination in the
United States, with a large secondand third-generation Brazilian
demographic, which also helps to explainthis 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 Piracan-juba (32%) and Governador Valadares (32%). Construction
was the secondhighest in Piracanjuba (24%); and in Governador
Valadares (20%). Therewere 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 thanin Framingham (8%), but the same as Marietta
(20%). In Piracanjuba (24%),the occupation of construction was
three times higher than construction inFramingham (8%). Figures for
the occupation of housecleaning for returneesin Governador
Valadares and Piracanjuba (32% for both), were over twoand a half
times higher than figures for housecleaning in Framingham
andMarietta (12% for both).
These differences in the four research sites suggest that
migrants whoeventually returned to Brazil were not as driven to
develop deeper interper-sonal networks outside of their own ethnic
community while they lived in theUnited States, and hence were
confined within their own ethnic space, andby extension, also
confined to Brazilian immigrant market sectors and so-cial
networks, such as housecleaning and construction. However,
long-timeimmigrant residents have forged new social and religious
networks outsidetheir own immigrant community, gaining access to
other labor markets otherthan housecleaning and construction. This
is particularly noticeable, for ex-ample, in Framingham (the oldest
place of destination), as the occupationsof teacher, business
owner, secretary, and bank teller were among the high-est,
respectively. In addition, it is likely that housecleaning and
constructionoccupations become increasingly saturated in
Framingham, prompting manyolder immigrant residents to seek out
other occupations, leaving houseclean-ing to newcomers. Conversely,
since Marietta is still a relatively new placeof destination, with
rampant new real estate developments and populationgrowth, the
service sector may not have saturated yet and Brazilians are
stillforging new interpersonal networks within the host community,
which alsohelps to explain why construction and housecleaning are
among the highestoccupations in that city.
In general, those who returned to Brazil already had included in
theiroriginal migration strategy plan (before leaving Brazil)
considerations ofworking in traditional Brazilian immigrant
occupations, such as house-cleaning and construction, working 4 to
6 years in receiving communities,and eventually returning to
Brazil. Indeed, all migrants had prior knowledgeof the demand for
these service sectors in receiving communities beforearriving in
the United States.
Occupations in Brazil (Brazilians in Brazil: prior to U.S.
arrival; Table3) representing over 10% of responses in all four
locations were as follows:sales and student (16%), and clerk (12%)
were the highest among Brazil-ians in Marietta; in Framingham, the
occupation of teacher was the highest(28%)which also helps to
explain why the occupation teacher was also the
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74 A. Marcus
highest in Framingham after migration occursfollowed by student
(16%),business owner (12%) and clerk (12%). In Piracanjuba, the
occupation ofstudent (high school and college-level) was the
highest (12%). Finally, theoccupations of sales and clerk (16%)
were the highest in Governador Val-adares, followed by retired
(12%). The occupation of teacher was amongthe highest in all four
locations. Qualitative interviews showed that the ma-jority of
teachers interviewed conveyed a profound dissatisfaction with
theoccupation of teaching in Brazil (e.g., in regards to salary,
pension funds,
TABLE 4 Total of 1,200 Application Forms, Total Number and
Percentage of Total: Occupa-tions Most Sought out by Brazilian
Immigrant Women and Men in Framingham, 19992006
Male Occupations Total % Female Occupations Total %
Painting 134 22.3 Housecleaning 423 70.5Construction 77 12.8
Babysitter 35 5.8Any 59 9.8 Any 26 4.3Landscaping 56 9.3 Teacher 22
3.7Housecleaning 52 8.7 Store attendant 20 3.3Driver 52 8.7 Cook 10
1.7Carpentry 39 6.5 Seamstress 7 1.2Waiter 19 3.2 Nurse 7 1.2Store
attendant 16 2.7 Student 7 1.2Cook 13 2.2 Manicure 7 1.2Mechanic 10
1.7 Hairdresser 6 1.0Dishwasher 10 1.7 Clerk 5 0.8Roofing 9 1.5
McDonalds 4 0.7Electrician 7 1.2 Bank teller 4 0.7Rural work 6 1.0
Restaurant 3 0.5Security guard 5 0.8 Accounting 2 0.3Bank teller 3
0.5 Nutritionist 2 0.3Engineer 3 0.5 Psychologist 2 0.3Sales 3 0.5
Dishwasher 2 0.3Butcher 3 0.5 Lawyer 1 0.2Clerk 2 0.3 Travel agent
1 0.2Student 2 0.3 Library work 1 0.2Factory work 2 0.3 Designer 1
0.2Photographer 2 0.3 Forest engineer 1 0.2Airplane pilot 2 0.3
Physical therapist 1 0.2College professor 2 0.3 Welder 2 0.3
McDonalds 2 0.3 Computers 2 0.3 Film maker 1 0.2 Accounting 1 0.2
Economist 1 0.2 Plumber 1 0.2 Tourism 1 0.2 Computer work 1 0.2
Total 600 100 Total 600 100
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 repre-sented in this sample.
All immigrants (but one) were employed prior to leaving Brazil
(Ta-ble 3). All occupations reflect archetypal middle to
lower-middle socioeco-nomic backgrounds.
To complement and triangulate the previously evaluated primary
re-search data, I also analyzed 1,200 job application forms filled
out between1999 to 2006 by Brazilian immigrants, which are archived
at a Brazilian im-migrant organization in Framingham (Table 4).
This center is well-knownfor providing assistance and help for
Brazilian newcomers who seek resi-dence and employment, and acts as
a liaison between potential employersand 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. Houseclean-ing
was overwhelmingly the most sought-out occupation for women
(71%),followed by babysitter (6%), any (4%) and teacher (4%).
Service sector occu-pations, such as painting for men and
housecleaning for women, were themost popularly sought out jobs in
all application forms (Table 4).
These results strongly suggest that most applicants, who arrive
at thecenter and select these desired sectors, have prior knowledge
for their de-mand in receiving communities before their arrival in
the United States.
Evaluations of U.S. Census 2000 figures (U.S. Census, 2000b)
also pro-vide helpful and complementary sources to these reviews
(Table 5). Thehighest figures for Brazilian immigrant occupations
according to U.S. Census2000, were: service occupations (30.3%),
followed by management, profes-sional, and related occupations
(27.2%) and sales and office occupations(19.4%).
Most Brazilian immigrants (documented or undocumented, and
whowork informally within construction sectors) are largely
undercounted by
TABLE 5 U.S. Census 2000: Profile of Selected Economic
Characteristics. Population Uni-verse: People Born in Brazil,
Geographic Area: United States
% ofOccupations Total
Service occupations 30.3Management, professional, and related
occupations 27.2Sales and office occupations 19.4Production,
transportation, and material moving occupations 11.8Construction,
extraction, and maintenance occupations 11Farming, fishing, and
forestry occupations 0.3Total 100
Source: U.S. Census 2000b. Table FBP-2. Profile of Selected
Economic Characteristics: 2000. Pop-ulation Universe: People Born
in Brazil.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/foreign/datatbls.html
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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 Brazilianimmigrant populationparticularly the
authorized contingent. Brazilians arethe least represented in
farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (0.3%),driving the point
that most Brazilian immigrants do not work in rural or
agri-cultural occupations, unlike most Mexican and Central American
immigrants.
CONCLUSION
This article has provided glimpses of new Brazilian immigrant
ethniceconomies and of Brazilian immigrant socioeconomic spaces,
livelihoods,and experiences. These glimpses illustrate new ethnic
geographies of non-Spanish-speaking Latin Americans in the United
States. Brazilians mostlywork in service sector occupations such as
construction and housecleaningcommonly viewed by the host
communities as typically Brazilian occupa-tions. By weaving though
interview vignettes, along with primary and sec-ondary data, I have
empirically evaluated ethnic economies in two countriesand
transnational Brazilian migration processes at the microlevel.
Those who returned to Brazil had not been as driven to
developstrong social networks outside of their own immigrant
community spaceas those who remained in the United States. The
restricting socioeconomicspace (i.e., abstract space) confined them
to housecleaning and construc-tion occupations. However, those who
remained in the United States de-veloped stronger local networks
outside their own immigrant community,and by extension, they also
gained additional access to other socioeconomicspaces and
occupational opportunities (e.g., bank teller, teacher, or
businessowner).
The contexts and conditions of migration processes are
multidimen-sional and complex, and they are generated and sustained
by interrelatedtransnational social and religious networksas
illustrated earlier with an in-terview excerpt from Chico, the
former pastor from Piracanjuba, now livingin Marietta.
Women tend to dominate the housecleaning sector and mentend to
work in the construction sectors (i.e., construction,
painting,landscaping)this statement is substantiated by combining
evaluations ofU.S. Census data, primary survey results, as well as
qualitative interviews.Hence, I was able to triangulate my results
and better assess Brazilian ethniceconomies. Furthermore, interview
excerpts from Leandro and Jucaras ex-periences, evaluated earlier,
illuminate the subtleties of how both Brazilianimmigrant men and
women experience ethnic economies and the migrationprocess
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 liveli-hoods, and there is a general sense of
uprootedness. Some returnees goback to the United States again, for
another 4 or 6-year period, with theintent to save enough money to
eventually return to Brazil and purchase ahouse, an apartment, a
car, or start a new business. Some returnees who stayin Brazil
reminisce about the U.S. values and cultural norms, and wish to
re-turn again but fear the process of living as an unauthorized
immigrant in theUnited States. Some returnees are quite happy with
their decision to remainin Brazil. For example, through Boscos
interview excerpt discussed earlier,we learned how migration
processes exacerbated his marital conflicts, andin 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. Brazil-ian 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 con-tribute conspicuously in the shaping of new
transnational economies, af-fecting 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 toplaces of origin. Traditionally the
term migrant is commonly used for internal migration in the
literatureof migration studies, however, I use it here loosely in
the context of international migration. I use theterm emigrant to
refer to those Brazilians who are leaving Brazil, and, the term
immigrant refers to thoseBrazilians who have arrived or who are
already residing in the United States. I use the term returnee
torefer to those Brazilian immigrants who have returned from the
United States, and who now reside inBrazil. Whenever I use the term
returnee, it will always be in the context of Brazilian immigrants
whoreturned from the United States to Brazil.
2. Brazilian immigrants do not make only economic decisions when
they decide to migrate, ratherthey 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 thegeographical imagination in the
migration process). For the purposes of this article, this
statement willsuffice, and I have not discussed those other
dimensions here.
3. Interviews with returnees in Brazil provided me with an
entree into certain social circles uponmy return to receiving
communities, as I also gained trust and rapport. First, they were
more comfortableduring 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 beingarrested and deported, and would offer me
detailed insights. Second, many returnees were friends orfamily
members of my U.S. interviewees (which facilitated further
generation of contacts and interviewsin receiving communities).
Third, returnees were at a greater ease in providing sensitive
informationabout financial earnings and real estate or money
transfers. Fourth, returnees provided visible examplesof 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.
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78 A. Marcus
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