Brazilian Migration to/from the United States: Racial and Health Implications

• In Event: Brazilian emigration: what we know and what is new about it -2

Abstract

Compared to other Latin American immigrants, Brazilians are a smaller and more recent immigrant group to the United States and often considered an invisible minority. Yet, they have sizeable enclaves in the northeastern region alongside other established Latin American immigrant populations. This has yielded questions about Brazilians’ racialization as “Latinos,” which has influenced their relationships with the “other Latinos” and Americans in an increasing anti-immigrant context. Relatedly, having Portuguese as a first language also distinguishes Brazilians from their Latin American counterparts, which has affected how Brazilians navigate the U.S. healthcare system. This presentation provides a brief overview of the Brazilian immigrant population in the U.S. Then, using qualitative data collected among a total sample of 109 Brazilian return migrants living in Governador Valadares (Brazil) and Brazilian immigrants in the greater Boston Metropolitan area between 2007 and 2016, we outline some of the challenges Brazilian migrants have faced classifying themselves using U.S. ethnoracial categories, particularly in relation to the Latino and Hispanic categories. We also briefly explore how such racialization alongside documentation status have created barriers to accessing health care under major health reforms in Massachusetts and the United States.

Authors

• Tiffany D Joseph, Northeastern University

• Tibrine da Fonseca