Brazilians in the United States: A Look at Migrants and Transnationalism

Brazilians in the United States: A Look at Migrants and Transnationalism Alvaro Lima, Eugenia Garcia Zanello, and Manuel Orozco 1 Introduction As globalization has intensified the integration of developing countries economies and societies, groups of people with shared origins and interests have become connected with each other across geographical boundaries as never before. In light of this heightened global connectivity, it is interesting to look at the transnational activities by different migrant groups in various parts of the world. As this paper will show, Brazilians exemplify a migrant group that is well connected through transnational ties. These activities by migrant groups are important to highlight, as they have potential development impacts in both the migrants home and host countries. In the following sections, we look at the characteristics of Brazilian migrants in the United States and their participation in transnational activities, using data from a study conducted among Brazilians living in Massachusetts in 2007. 2 In an effort to examine the Brazilian diaspora in the broader context of migrants and transnationalism, we also present data from surveys of Latin American migrants in the U.S. conducted by Orozco in 2005 and 2008. The findings presented in this paper indicate that while there are many similarities between Brazilians and other migrant populations living in the U.S., there are also features that differentiate the Brazilian community from other migrant groups. For 1 Alvaro Lima is Research Director for the Boston Redevelopment Authority and serves as Director of the Innovation Network for Communities. Eugenia Garcia Zanello is a Researcher at the Inter American Dialogue and a student in the Master of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Manuel Orozco is a Senior Fellow at the Inter American Dialogue and Director of its Remittances and Development Program. 2 The research for this paper was done in 2007 in partnership with the Innovation Network for Communities and funded by a grant from the Kellogg Foundation. 1

example, while Brazilians have lower levels of citizenship compared to other migrant groups in the U.S., the amounts they send in remittances to their homeland are much higher than those sent by other migrant groups of Latin American origin. Moreover, while Brazilian migrants display slightly lower levels of overall transnational engagement compared to other migrants, they show a greater level of engagement when it comes to telecommunications, via both phone and internet, with their homeland. Migrants and Transnationalism Transnationalism can be defined as the way and degree to which groups of migrants participate in and maintain relations with fellow countrymen in both the host country and in their country of origin (Orozco 2005b). In recent years, transnational communities have emerged in large numbers, as globalization has intensified the integration of developing countries economies and societies. Transnational social networks span the globe, and lately it has become clear that migrants transnational networks play a fundamental role in both the social and economic aspects of development. Orozco (2005b) analyzes transnationalism through the scope of the 5 Ts family remittance transfers, tourism, transportation, telecommunication, and nostalgic trade 3 and argues that these activities carried out by migrants pose important policy and research questions about the relationship between transnationalism and development in the age of globalization. 4 Specifically, the 5 Ts refer to: 1) Transportation air travel as a source of communication among immigrants and their families; 2) Tourism economic activity of migrants when in their native country; 3) Telecommunications migrants living abroad calling family members in their home 3 Nostalgic trade is the import and export of goods by and for diaspora with their countries of origin such as traditional spices, handicrafts, and clothing. 4 Development economics has long considered foreign savings key to increasing a country s capital output ratio. Within that context, four factors have been considered: foreign direct investment, official development assistance, foreign trade, and the transfer of technology. Remittances are also foreign savings of significant magnitude. 2

country; 4) Transfer of Money and Capital economic activity in the form of remittances; and 5) Nostalgic Trade enterprises in a migrant community selling goods and services to migrants at a distance from their home country. In addition to these transnational activities, another way in which migrants support their places of origin, maintain relationships with local communities, and retain a sense of community as they adjust to life in their new home countries is by joining a hometown association (HTA) in their host country. An HTA is an organization formed by migrants that live in the same locality and share a common nationality. They are often formed with the purpose of contributing to their home countries, by transferring money and resources to their homeland. In light of the framework of the 5Ts for looking at transnationalism among migrant populations, it is interesting to study the experiences of particular migrant groups living in the United States. The next sections look at the case of Brazilian migrants in Massachusetts in an effort to study levels of trasnationalism among the Brazilian community. First, we present data on Brazilian migrants regarding the sending of remittances. Second, we compare the demographics of Brazilian remitters with those of migrants from other Latin American countries who also send remittances. Third, we present findings on the remitters engagement in the other activities of the 5Ts. For each section, we also look at how the transnational behavior of Brazilians compares to that of other migrant populations of Latin American origin living in the U.S. Sending Money Home: Brazilians and other Nationalities Remittance Flows to Brazil Historically, Brazil has been a destination for immigrants from across the globe welcoming the likes of Portuguese, Spanish, German, Russian, Polish, Czech, Japanese, and many other nationalities throughout the 20th century. Migration out of Brazil is a relatively new phenomenon. During the last few decades the country has seen more of 3

its citizens leave in search of better economic opportunities abroad. It is estimated that since 1987, when approximately 300,000 Brazilians lived abroad, emigration has increased by a rate of about 20% per year. According to the Center of Development and Regional Planning at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, as many as 2.5 million Brazilians lived abroad by 1995. Looking at migration to the U.S., most Brazilian populations are concentrated in a few states, including Massachusetts as well as Florida, New York, and New Jersey. According to our estimates, the number of Brazilians currently living in the U.S. may be between 600,000 and 700,000. 5 This migration flow has created a considerable remittance market. Brazilians living abroad sent $7.2 billion back home in 2008 according to estimates by the Inter American Development Bank, 6 making Brazil the second largest recipient of remittances in Latin America after Mexico. About half of the remittances received in Brazil come from Brazilians living in the United States. According to our estimates, 7 remittances from the U.S. to Brazil were about $3.5 billion in 2007. 8 Remittances have come to play an increasingly important role in the economies of Brazilian migrant sending states, with approximately 1.3 million Brazilians receiving remittances on a regular basis from relatives living abroad (Levy 2006). Remittance flows have a further impact by increasing consumption in these places. Low income households have a high marginal propensity to consume, and in turn have an important impact on overall macroeconomic activity. For example, Le Franc and Downes (2001), examining Jamaican data, conclude that there is a significant relationship between remittance flows and changing consumption poverty levels. Orozco (2005a) argues that 5 Using the 2000 U.S. Census data on the number of legal permanent residents in the U.S. and on nonimmigrant (tourist) visas given to Brazilians each year, we calculate the number of Brazilians in the U.S. by the end of 2007, assuming that about 10% of tourists stay in the U.S. and 40% of those already in American return to Brazil the following each year thereafter (as the data on Brazilian migrants shows that about 90% of them live in the U.S. for up to 6 years before returning to Brazil). 6 Report by IADB < http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=1910986> 7 Our data on Brazilians in the U.S. shows that about 65% of them send remittances, and that they send an average of $700 each time, amounting to about $8,400 a year. Using our estimate that there were about 600,000 Brazilians in the U.S. in 2007 and 65% of them sent remittances of about $700 each month; we calculate the total dollar amount of remittances for 2007. 8 The estimate by the Brazilian Central Bank is closer to $3 billion. However, there are known discrepancies inherent in the difficulty of measuring the data on remittance flows. 4

for every $1 sent home, income increases by $1.78, illustrating a significant multiplier effect. To further examine the characteristics and behaviors of Brazilian migrants, a study was conducted in 2008 by the authors looking at Brazilians in Massachusetts the state with the largest concentration on Brazilians in the U.S. A random sample of 250 subjects, intercepted at remittance agencies, 9 was drawn to assure confidence intervals of 6.17% at a confidence level of 95%. 10 The next section presents the results from this survey on the demographic characteristics of Brazilian remitters and their remitting behaviors, and compares them to the findings from two studies conducted by Orozco looking at Latin American remittance senders and recipients in 2005. One of these studies by Orozco is of remittance senders of 12 different Latin American nationalities remitting from the United States; the other one is of remittance recipients in Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Ecuador. Demographics of Brazilians Remitters According to the findings from the 2007 survey, Brazilian remitters display some interesting characteristics that differentiate them from other migrant populations in the U.S. Brazilians are on average 35.6 years old, with a high school level of education. Specifically, 33% of Brazilians have a high school level of education and 25% have completed some level of college education. Compared to other Latin American migrants, they are slightly older and rank third in terms of having a college education, after Nicaraguans and Jamaicans. Interestingly, one out of four Brazilian females (24%) holds a college degree, a rate higher than for any other Latin American group and almost three times higher than for Brazilian males. 9 The routes for the fieldwork were designed to include remittance agencies that send money to Brazil that are located in areas with large concentrations of Brazilians. 10 The survey was administered by staff trained and supervised by Silvestre HMR&S, and included questions from two surveys directed by Manuel Orozco in 2003 and 2006 with migrant communities from Latin America and the Caribbean. 5

The typical Brazilian immigrant household is composed of 3 to 4 people and most (82%) of them are adults over 21. As shown in Table 1, remitters are mostly males (66%). Brazilian remitters also have the highest proportion (38%) of people with incomes over US$35,000 and the lowest proportion (2%) of those making less than US$10,000 among immigrants from Latin American and the Caribbean. Table 1: Selected Characteristics of Brazilian Remitters Average Age 35.6 years Gender 66% male, 35% female Typical Household Size 3 to 4 people Income 38% earn over $35,000/year Education Level 33% high school, 25% some college Home Ownership 10.8% Business Owners 12.4% U.S. Citizenship 3.2% are citizens Average Years in the U.S. 6 years Source: Survey of Brazilian migrants, 2007. Moreover, the data shows that 85% of Brazilian remitters in Massachusetts are employees. Only 0.8% of the remitters are unemployed. Moreover, a significant percentage of them are self employed: 12.4% are business owners. Interestingly, different levels of education do not significantly affect incomes in this case. However, incomes vary between those who are homeowners (10.8%) and those who are renters (88%). The median income for homeowners is over $35,000, while for renters it is US$31,000. Compared to other Latin American and Caribbean migrants, Brazilians have the lowest proportion of U.S. citizenship (3.2%) 11 as shown in Figure 1. Looking at length of time living in the U.S., 45% of Brazilians have been living in the U.S. for less than 3 years. Meanwhile, 91% of them have been in the U.S. for less than 8 years. 11 Jamaicans have the highest proportion of U.S citizens (56%), followed by Dominicans (43%), Salvadorans (17.3%), Bolivians (16%), Nicaraguans (14%), Mexicans (12.8%), and Guatemalans (12%). 6

Figure 1: U.S. Citizenship by Nationality Source: Survey of Brazilian migrants, 2007 and survey of Latin Americans, 2005. Remitting by Brazilians in Massachusetts There are also interesting similarities and differences regarding the remitting behavior by Brazilian migrants compared to other Latin American migrant populations. Fifty percent of Brazilians in Massachusetts send money home once a month. Thirty three percent of them remit twice a month, and 9.2% do it once every three months a pattern similar to other groups of remitters. However, monthly remittances of Brazilians ($875) are much higher than the average for other Latin American and Caribbean remitters. 12 On average, Brazilians remit about $700 each time. The average fee they pay ($9.28), however, is similar to that paid by other remitters. 13 The data also shows that the number of years of sending money to Brazil is positively correlated with the number of years living in the U.S. That is, the longer 12 Even correcting for outliers, monthly remittances for Brazilians are much higher than the average for other Latin American and Caribbean immigrants. 13 The distribution is tilted to the left with a median around $10. 7

Brazilians live in the U.S., the longer they send money home, a tendency shared by other groups in Orozco s sample of Latin American migrants. Mothers and fathers are the main beneficiaries of remittances for Brazilians (36.4%). Parents are also the main beneficiaries among other Latin American and Caribbean migrant groups, except for Guyanese migrants. Spouses constitute the second beneficiary group for Brazilians (21.5%), and children come third (19.4%). Consistent with all other Latin American groups, Brazilian recipients use their remittances to buy food (24.8%) and clothing (17.4%), as shown in Table 2. Medical expenses come third for Brazilians, while housing occupies this place for all other communities in the sample comparison. The percentage of remittances sent for business investments among Brazilians is the second highest (7.4%), behind only that of Guyanese immigrants (8.5%). Table 2: Use of Remittances by Brazilian Recipients How is the remittance used or spent by the recipient? Food 24.8% Clothing 17.4% Education 16.1% Medical 11.7% Housing 17.1% Business 7.4% Savings 5.4% Source: Survey of Brazilian migrants, 2007. Compared to other Latin American migrants, Brazilians also display a very different behavior with regard to their agency of choice. While Western Union is the first agency of choice for most other remitters, it is the second choice for Brazilians, with BrazTransfers occupying the first place and Chang Express the third position both Brazilian owned companies. The data from the survey suggests that level of satisfaction with these companies is very high. In our sample, 92.8% were very satisfied or satisfied with their remittance agencies. 8

The 5Ts: Brazilians and other Migrants In addition to sending remittances, Brazilians engage in other transnational activities. The findings regarding Brazilians involvement in these activities are presented in the following sections. These results are once again compared to the findings on other migrant populations living in the U.S. in an effort to see whether Brazilians are more or less engaged. In this case, the findings on Brazilians are contrasted with the data from a study conducted by Orozco in 2008 of migrants from various nationalities living in the United States. 14 Index of Engagement In order to examine the overall level of engagement among Brazilian migrants, we developed an index of engagement that measures overall levels of participation. Remitters were asked about four specific types of activities: purchasing nostalgic goods, belonging to an HTA, traveling to the home country at least once a year, and calling home at least once a week). A score of 0 corresponds to participation in none of these activities, while a score of 4 indicates participation in all of the activities. The more positive the value on the index, the higher is the level of engagement. Table 3 shows that compared to other migrants of Latin American origin living in the U.S., Brazilians display slightly lower levels of overall engagement. While only 15.8% of migrants from other Latin American nationalities have a low score of one, 54.4% of Brazilians do, indicating that a larger proportion of Brazilians are involved in barely any of the activities. Meanwhile, 13.6% of other migrant groups participate in all of the activities, while only 0.4% of Brazilians display such a high level of participation. 14 This particular survey was based on a random sample of 1,300 migrants from 13 different nationalities in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. 9

Table 3: Index of Engagement Index Score Brazilians LAC migrants 0 4.8% 3.5% 1 54.4% 15.8% 2 32.8% 28.3% 3 7.6% 38.8% 4 0.4% 13.6% Source: Survey administered by authors. Thus, we find that Brazilians are perhaps less engaged than other Latin American groups as a whole. In an effort to explain any differences between Brazilians and migrant groups of the nationalities, the following sections look at their participation in each particular type of activity that composes the 5Ts. Transportation As discussed earlier, travel to the home country is a transnational activity performed by migrants to maintain their links to their family and communities back home. Looking at travel among Brazilians, the data shows that 83.7% have actually never traveled back to Brazil since migrating to the United States. This is a very high percentage compared to migrants of other Latin American nationalities. Only 42.3% of other Latin Americans in the U.S. have never traveled to their homelands since moving to the U.S. Meanwhile, 18.3% of Latin American migrants travel home at least once a year, compared to only 7.9% of Brazilians (see Table 4). This could perhaps be explained by the fact that Brazilian migrants in the United States have lower levels of citizenship. It is possible that migrants who have become naturalized tend to travel more back home, while those who do not hold a citizenship tend to travel less. In the case of Brazilians, their lower travel rates may be explained by the fact that they are planning to stay only for a given period of time in the U.S. before returning permanently to Brazil. 10

Table 4: How often do you travel to your country? Frequency Brazilians (%) LAC (%) Three or more times a year 0.5 2.0 Twice a year 3.3 3.3 Once a year 7.9 18.3 Once every two years 1.9 9.3 Once every three years 0.9 5.3 Less than once every three years 1.9 19.5 I've never travelled 83.7 42.3 Source: Survey administered by authors. For those Brazilians who do travel, most of them stay a considerable amount of time: anywhere from 2 3 weeks to a month or longer. As shown in Table 5, 17% of them actually stay for more than 2 months once they decide to travel. Table 5: Length of Stay by Brazilians Visiting the Homeland Length of time % A week or less 5.7 2 3 weeks 40.0 One month 28.6 More than a month to 8.6 2 months More than 2 months 17.1 Source: Survey administered by authors. Telecommunications 11

Looking at another component of the 5Ts, telecommunications such as telephone calls to family back home are another significant transnational activity that migrants typically engage in. Again, comparing Brazilians to migrants from other Latin American nationalities, the data suggests that Brazilian migrants typically call their family more often than other Latin Americans in the U.S. As shown in Table 6, 52.6% of Brazilians call their family two or more times each week, compared to only 16.3% of other Latin American migrants. Table 6: How often do you call your family? Frequency Brazilians (%) LAC (%) Two or more times a week 52.6 16.3 Once a week 35.3 37.9 Once every two weeks 6.4 23.5 Once a month 4 11.5 Less than once a month 1.6 10.8 Source: Survey administered by authors. Not only do Brazilians show the highest level of engagement when it comes to calling their homelands, but each time they call home, they also tend to engage in long conversations, typically lasting for thirty minutes or more (see Table 7). This could perhaps be linked to their lower travel rates, as they may be compensating for less personal contact during trips with more frequent long distance contact with their relatives via phone calls. Table 7: What is the average length of the call in minutes? Frequency % Less than five minutes 1.2 Between six and ten minutes Between eleven and twenty minutes 7.2 18.9 12

Between twenty one and thirty minutes More than thirty minutes 28.5 44.2 Source: Survey administered by authors. Moreover, Brazilian migrants interviewed in Massachusetts indicated that they use other forms of communication, in addition to telephone calls, to connect with their relatives in Brazil. Seventy two percent of respondents indicated that they send/receive emails to/from people in their home country. In addition, 87.6% of Brazilians indicated that they frequently watch television or listen to radio programs that originate from their home country as a way to maintain communication with their homeland. This is a much higher rate than with migrants from other Latin American countries, who are much less likely to have internet access. 15 Nostalgic Trade Nostalgic trade, or the purchasing of imported home made goods, is yet another way in which migrants stay connected with their homeland. Compared to other Latin Americans living in the United States, Brazilian migrants in Massachusetts display similar levels of engagement when it comes to buying nostalgic products, as shown in Table 8. Table 8: Migrants in the U.S. who Purchase Home Country Goods Nationality Bolivia 86% Brazil 98% Colombia 92% Dominican 97% Republic El Salvador 88% Ethiopia 78% 15 See Orozco 2007 report < http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/im3622h5010.pdf> 13

Ghana 91% India 85% Mexico 99% Nigeria 93% Paraguay 92% Philippines 71% Honduras 90% Source: Survey administered by authors. Looking at Brazilians in particular, the most popular products they buy are foods and spices (45.5% of them regularly buy these goods), followed by Brazilian videos, DVDs, and CDs (20.6%) and clothing (17.8%), as shown in Table 9. Table 9: Which products do you buy that are made in your country? Product Foods and spices 45.5% Alcohol 3.8% Cigarettes 1.6% Clothing 17.8% Books 4.9% Newspapers and magazines 5.1% Videos, DVDs, CDs 20.6% Craft Items 0.8% Source: Survey administered by authors. HTA Membership Finally, as mentioned earlier, migrants often join hometown associations in their host countries as a way to connect with their country of origin. Migrants use HTA membership as the space in which to exercise their involvement with their host countries by engaging in activities that contribute to both their home and host countries. These activities include sponsoring cultural events, organizing fundraisers to 14

donate funds for projects in their home and host communities, and even engaging directly in development projects back home. Looking at Brazilian involvement in HTAs, the data shows that their levels of engagement are somewhat comparable to those of other Latin American migrants in the United States. However, as Table 10 shows, Brazilians fall toward the lower end of the spectrum, with only 12.4% of them belonging or contributing to an HTA. Table 10: Migrants who belong to an HTA Nationality Bolivia 6% Brazil 12.4% Colombia 15% Dominican Republic 20% El Salvador 4% Ethiopia 39% Ghana 23% India 13% Mexico 15.5% Nigeria 22% Paraguay 38% Philippines 2% Honduras 8. % Source: Survey administered by authors. Conclusion Our study of the Brazilian diaspora shows both similarities and differences between Brazilians and other migrant populations living in the United States when it comes to their practices of transnationalism. First, looking at the characteristics and behaviors of remittance senders, Brazilians display some unique features. Brazilians are typically older and more educated, and a greater percentage of them earn annual incomes of more than U$35,000. Brazilians also have the lowest rates of U.S. citizenship 15

compared to other migrants, though their length of stay in the U.S. is roughly the same as other groups. When it comes to remitting, while the frequency with which Brazilians send money home is similar to that of other migrants, the amounts they send each time are much higher than the average sent by other Latin Americans. Second, looking at looking at levels of transnationalism as measured by our index of engagement, it is possible to see that Brazilians show slightly lower levels of engagement compared to other migrant groups of Latin American origin. Looking at each of the activities that compose the 5Ts, Brazilians show similar levels of engagement compared to migrant groups when it comes to the consumption of imported homemade goods, but they rank lower in terms of travel to their home country and involvement in hometown associations. Nevertheless, they show a greater level of engagement when it comes to telecommunications, as the data shows that Brazilians call their country more often and hold longer conversations when they do so. In addition, Brazilians communicate with their homelands by sending/receiving emails, watching Brazilian TV shows or listening to the radio, and reading Brazilian publications. These findings about the various transnational activities that Brazilians and the comparative analysis with other migrants living in the U.S. give us important insights on the unique characteristics of this particular group of migrants living in the U.S. 16

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