My Parents' Immigration from Brazil to the USA

Contributed by Michael DeAndrade

 

Brazil

 

         During the late 1980s, Brazilian people were ecstatic with the passage of the new Constitution which allowed the people to vote for their president. Though there were many festivities for the establishment of the new Constitution, Brazil’s world economy was declining rapidly. Rising inflation and unemployment rates, and failure of political leadership caused the economic stability of Brazil to rattle. During 1986 and 1987, the Cruzado and Bresser Plans were passed to reduce inflation but instead caused more turmoil to occur. The Cruzado and Bresser plans froze assets of Brazilian citizens, which meant that Brazilian people could not withdraw money from the banks. The money in the bank could only be used to pay daily bills such as, the gas and water bills which frustrated many civilians. Many families, including my own family, were affected by this plan and caused poverty to strike. During this time, there was an influx of immigrants to Canada and Mexico because of their open immigration policy.  Accordingly, my father decided to leave Brazil in 1987 to Canada in hope to find new opportunities. A year later my mother took the same journey and left Brazil to Mexico and eventually entered the United States in hopes to be with my father and find new opportunities.

          During the late 1980s, Mexico and Canada had a huge influx of immigrants entering the country. The removal of racial or national barrier in immigration selection in 1967 in Canada enabled immigrants to freely enter the country in an attempt to have a better life. Like Canada, Mexico did not have restrictions in immigration which allowed immigrants, like my mother, to enter the country without a visa. The issue with the ability of immigrants to enter these countries without any restrictions was there would be an influx of immigrants in the country causing people like my father, who came for an opportunity for a new life to not be able to become employed. Another problem was that since the job opportunities were so competitive and there weren't substantial employment, many turned their attentions towards the United States. At the time, the United States grew frustrated with the increase of illegal immigrants entering the country.  President Ronald Reagan stated in the 1986 congressional elections that the United States had “’lost control’ of its borders to an ‘invasion’ of illegal migrants” and transformed undocumented immigration to a more national security policy. With the midterm elections approaching, President Reagan passed numerous bills, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which enforced United States Border Patrol along Mexico, and sanctioned enacted which penalized employers who knowingly hired unauthorized workers. Though President Reagan fought valiantly against immigration, the large mass of people still managed to enter the country illegally and gain opportunities that caused many, including my parents, to realize their dreams of helping their families to have a prosperous stable life. 

Interview:

The following is an interview of my parents, Marcos Rocha and Tania de Andrade, about their experience of immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s and the difficulties they faced in adapting to the American culture and the English language.

1. What was your motive for leaving Brazil?

Tania de Andrade:I had three main motives why I left Brazil. My first reason was to meet your father, Marcos Rocha, since he had left a year earlier before I did and continue our lives together. We have been together for three years before we decided to leave to the United States. After he left we continued to talk and Marcos sent me money and other materials I needed to immigrant to the United States. My second reason was to have a better life and to have more opportunities. My third motive was to help my mother. Before I left life in Brazil was very difficult and we were a very poor family. My mother with her salary couldn't take care of four children. After I left I began to send money to my mother to assist her with taking care of my brother and sisters.

Marcos Rocha: My main motive for leaving Brazil was the economic instability in Brazil. When Fernando Collor de Melo froze my families assets in the bank to pay the debt that Brazil owned other nations. Brazil was in an economic downfall and I was forced to travel to the United States to assist my family in Brazil.

2. What were your experiences when immigrating to the United States?

Tania de Andrade:An experience I felt was the changes in culture and the adaption from a poverty level country to a more powerful rich country like the United States. Also in the United States the chances to becoming successful in life or to have a stable life was much higher than in Brazil for the fact that here in the United States I received salaries per week unlike when I worked in Brazil. In Brazil I would receive salaries per month and at times due to the lack of money I wouldn't even be paid. Also the experience with a different language made it very difficult my first few years in the United States.

Marcos Rocha: An experience I felt was the change of culture, which was completely different than in Brazil. Also I was used to a third-world country when I immigrated to the United States and United States was a powerhouse and the difference was a complete shock. I experienced less poverty and though I studied in Brazil about the culture I was going to face when I arrived in the United States it was completely different than what I could have imagined. Also the change in language had a huge impact in my life and it was difficult to comprehend the language when I arrived.

3. What did you see/experienced in Mexico?

Tania de Andrade:The area in which I traveled in Mexico during the few days that I stayed there before immigrating to the United States I saw a lot of poverty and sadness. There were many abandon cars and houses. There were houses that were burnt down or old cars abandon on the streets. The people would always look at me like they were superior to me. The Mexican people treated us as animals instead of people. They would refer to us as property and would barely speak to us.

4. What did you see/experienced in Canada?

Marcos Rocha: I stayed 30 days in Toronto, Canada and I was surprised by how clean the country was. The environment was nothing like what I used to experience in Brazil and nothing like what I experienced in the United States. The one problem I faced was that a job opportunity for illegal immigrants was very difficult to obtain. I tried to even legalize in Canada but unfortunately my patience ran out and I decided to come to the United States but my friends who stayed all became a citizen a couple of days after I left.

5. Why did you decide to come to the United States instead of staying in Canada like you planned before?

Marcos Rocha: Originally I planned to stay in Canada but the lack of opportunities in Canada led me to immigrant to the United States. I left with $1000 and the money was beginning to run out and no job opportunities were available. At the time my brother was living in the United States and the economy was booming under Ronald Reagan's presidency. I decided to pack my bags and go live with my brother and fortunately I attained a job and was able to live a stable life.

6. What was your first impression when you arrived in United States?

Tania de Andrade: When I arrived in the United States I thought everything was beautiful. The lights at night sparkled and I felt the clear night sky was beautiful. Though it wasn't like Brazil’s sky full of stars I felt that clear night sky was beautiful. Also when I finally arrived in New Jersey it was a cold winter day and it was snowing. My eyes gleamed as I stared at the white snow falling from the sky and I thought I never saw something as beautiful as it. In Brazil it never snowed and the fact that when I arrived I saw snow for the first time it made me excited to have come. The roads were smoother to travel in, it did not have bumps like the roads in Brazil and the houses were all beautiful and had different colors.

Marcos Rocha: My first impression was the roads were wider and longer and the houses were completely constructed. In Brazil during the time the houses weren't complete and the roads were narrow unlike in the United States. Also slums were very common in Brazil and when I arrived I would rarely see any incidents of poverty.

7. Did you have any difficulties in understanding the language?

Tania de Andrade:Yes I had many difficulties in understanding the English language. Though I studied English in Brazil I still could not fully understand the language. The English we learned was very basic and the pronunciations were incorrect. Also since the language was very difficult it was hard to adapt or understand what was occurring during the time.

Marcos Rocha: The fact that I studied two years in Brazil the British language the change in language didn't really frightened me. I did not understand the language and I had some difficulties in comprehending the language but it wasn't a big shock like it was to my friends who came at the same time that I did.

8. Did you have any difficulties in adapting to the American culture?

Tania de Andrade:I had some difficulties in adapting to the American culture. One difficulty I had was adapting to the meals throughout the day. In the United States people commonly have three meals a day unlike in Brazil in which we had four meals a day. The lunch here was nothing compared to how the lunch was in Brazil. In Brazil during lunchtime we would eat what corresponds to like a dinner here. Also the taste of the food was completely different. The taste of the American food was stronger than the Brazilian food. Also in the United States the food consisted of large amounts of salt unlike in Brazil which is more garlic than salt.

Marcos Rocha: Yes I had many difficulties in adapting to the American culture. When I arrived here there wasn't many reference or information about Brazil. The daily Brazilian newspaper would take months to arrive so in a way we grew closer to the Hispanic culture. We would watch Spanish soap operas and listen to news that was occurring in the Hispanic countries. Another difficulty I faced was adapting to the style of food. When I arrived pizza and hamburgers was common unlike in Brazil which was more a traditional family meal of rice and beans. Another difficulty I faced was the isolation of the people here in the United States. In Brazil everyone knew everyone in their neighborhoods and grew strong relationships with each other. It was common to receive 20 to 30 visits a day by neighbors or having a neighbor help you fix your lawn or remind you to not forget to go to the doctors. Here in the United States it was more an individual view. Everyone stayed in their houses during the weekend with their families instead of gathering on the streets and throwing a big barbecue like in Brazil. The different views showed me how though we, Brazilian, suffered a lot throughout the years we were still very united and after the first couple of months in the United States I began to miss the culture and customs in Brazil.

9. Did you suffer any discrimination?

Tania de Andrade:Yes I did suffer a form of discrimination in United States. The first job I had in the United States was in a factory that created jackets and other clothing materials. One day I misunderstood what a Portuguese woman called me in the factory. Since I did not understand the English language I thought the woman was uttering profanity against me and I became upset and asked to leave the job. In reality the woman was just complementing my work but since I did not understand the other women were laughing I thought the woman was making fun of me but in reality she was not.

Marcos Rocha: In the beginning yes I did suffer discrimination. Unfortunately, many people still have the belief that they are superior to others. Nowadays I don’t suffer discrimination and I am highly respected in the area I work. Before I was usually discriminated by people from my own race who thought that since they arrived earlier and understood the English language and customs more than I did they were superior to me. I had difficulty in adapting in the construction field because of the discrimination I faced by the Portuguese and also American but after years of experience in the field I became highly respected by all races.

For more information on immigration from Brazil, see:

"BRAZIL COMPLETE NEW CONSTITUTION." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Sept. 1988. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/03/world/brazil-complete-new-constitution.html.

"Common Menu Bar Links." 3. Changing Immigration Pattern and the Emergence of “Visible Minorities”. Department of Justice, 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/rs/rep-rap/2002/rp02_8-dr02_8/p3.html

Durand, Jorge, Douglas S. Massey, and Emilio A. Parrado. "The New Era of Mexican Migration to the United States." The New Era of Mexican Migration to the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. http://www.journalofamericanhistory.org/projects/mexico/jdurand.html.

"History of Brazil since 1985." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brazil_since_1985>.

Widner. "Brazil 1988." Brazil 1988. Constitution Writing and Conflict Resolution, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.< http://www.princeton.edu/~pcwcr/reports/Brazil1988.html>.