Brazilians leaving America in droves

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The first signs of an Iberian exodus began about 10 months ago, when Kelin Muniz noticed a drop in customers who buy the Brazilian music and Brazilian beauty products in her store in the Ironbound section of Newark.

Brazilians in the Ironbound are leaving in droves, Muniz said, driven out by a bad economy and tougher immigration laws. She said about 15 of her friends have already gone back.

"Nobody comes here," she said Wednesday, pointing to the empty Tropical Music store on Ferry Street, where she is an employee.

After living in the United States for 10 years, Muniz also plans to pack her bags and move back to Brazil next month. The Newark resident wants to stay, but feels pressured to leave.

The housing crisis has drastically reduced construction jobs for her father, while the Brazilian economy has become more stable, she said. Muniz will be the first in her family to return; her parents and sister will follow after their home is sold, she said.

"We don't have income. It's been hard now to live here," said Muniz.

Delvemar Camilo de Souza, 25, dropped by Tropical Music to bid farewell to Muniz. He was leaving for his hometown of Minas Gerais in three days.

"There's no work, no money," said de Souza, who worked only one day for four hours last week in his construction job.

At Boi Na Brasa, a Brazilian restaurant, waiter Andre Vianna said tables are emptier than they've been in months.

"Lots of Brazilians bought homes in New Jersey, especially in Newark, and with the new situation, the value of homes decreased so much," said Roberto Lima, editor of the Brazilian Voice. "Owning a home here was no longer such a beauty."

Brazilian Voice reporter Leonardo Ferreira said professionals who are performing menial labor still are struggling and getting frustrated.

"They think: 'I've been cleaning houses for over five years, but I'm a lawyer. I'm an engineer and I'm laying bricks. I'm even more qualified than my bosses," Ferreira said.

What started as a trickle has now become a steady stream of Brazilians leaving Newark. Muniz said she had planned to return home in November, but the airplanes were full. Some are driving to other states to take flights from there.

"We have sold a lot of one-way tickets to Brazil," admitted Monica Rocco, owner of Monica Travel.

But Rocco pointed out there is still a thriving Brazilian population in the area.

"Some travel here hoping to make it, and some go back because of the economic situation," she said.

The Revs. Maristela Freiberg and Moacir Weirich of Grace Community Lutheran Church in the Ironbound have seen the exodus in their congregation. Last winter, they mailed 1,200 news bulletins to congregants. This year, they sent out only 800. They know five families who have gone back to Brazil in the last two weeks.

"People came to have a better life. When the (economic) crisis began, that dream went away," Freiberg said.

She said even women who clean houses for a living fear their employers won't be able to splurge on a housekeeper for much longer.

Freiberg said the summer of 2007 proved pivotal for undocumented Brazilians. That's when the comprehensive immigration reform bill was rejected by the senate while the Brazilian economy became more stable, she said.

"There were high expectations this law would pass and they would get legalized," she said. "Then raids began to happen."

Francisco Samba, president of the Brazilian American United Association, believes a crackdown by immigration authorities has sent many Brazilians homeward bound.

"They think, 'What's going to happen? What if immigration catches them?' It's a horrible situation," Samba said. "They're enforcing it more."

Weirich said new rules intended to prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining driver's licenses also contributed to the departures.

"They're going back sadly. They put a lot of energy and effort and realize they can't make it anymore," he said.

So they're trying for a better life in their native land, which is enjoying a resurgence.

Brazil has begun to produce its own oil. Its president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, recently received a 71 percent approval rating. For the first time in recent memory, the country seems to have a positive attitude, said Lima.

"They discovered the biggest-ever oil reservoir in the ocean in Brazil," he said. "Brazil is a country with lots of potential. Brazilians are hopeful again."

But Lima predicts many Brazilians will realize upon returning home that life will prove harder than they originally envisioned.

"Too many Brazilians are already established here with kids in school. Lots of people going back are going to experience trouble," he said. "It's a different situation. They're used to the American way of life.

"They have to get used to a new reality, when they go back to Brazil and find that you cannot make $500 or $700 a week and you have to work six months to a year to buy a TV set," he said.

Muniz fears her sister, barely 10, will have the hardest time adjusting to the move, since she came to America when she was one.

"She doesn't speak Portuguese very well," she said.

http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/bas....xml&coll=1

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

not surprising really.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Hopefully Obama eases up on illegals and more will come here.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hopefully Obama eases up on illegals and more will come here.

yes, they're brazilian, so they must all be illegal

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Hopefully Obama eases up on illegals and more will come here.

yes, they're brazilian, so they must all be illegal

I didn't specify Brazilians, did I? I said illegals.

[desert_fox 32]

Hopefully Obama eases up on illegals and more will come here.

yes, they're brazilian, so they must all be illegal

I didn't specify Brazilians, did I? I said illegals.

I hope not. They need to self deport themselves.

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

taps fingers. anyone noticed anything yet?

[NickD 202]

Ha, I have a solution to this problem, it won't fly, but will toss it out anyway.

For every illegal that comes here, we find out from which country, and ship an American to that country. We can start by first emptying out our prisons, then shipping out the idiots.

Reason? Would have have a hard working honest illegal for a neighbor than a crook or an idiot. This simple solution would solve a multitude of problems.

[rocks 494]

Ha, I have a solution to this problem, it won't fly, but will toss it out anyway.

For every illegal that comes here, we find out from which country, and ship an American to that country. We can start by first emptying out our prisons, then shipping out the idiots.

Reason? Would have have a hard working honest illegal for a neighbor than a crook or an idiot. This simple solution would solve a multitude of problems.

if you ship out all the crooks and idiots you're not gonna be left with many people!

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

Ha, I have a solution to this problem, it won't fly, but will toss it out anyway.

For every illegal that comes here, we find out from which country, and ship an American to that country. We can start by first emptying out our prisons, then shipping out the idiots.

Reason? Would have have a hard working honest illegal for a neighbor than a crook or an idiot. This simple solution would solve a multitude of problems.

if you ship out all the crooks and idiots you're not gonna be left with many people!

and who would be left to vote democratic party?

[rocks 494]

Ha, I have a solution to this problem, it won't fly, but will toss it out anyway.

For every illegal that comes here, we find out from which country, and ship an American to that country. We can start by first emptying out our prisons, then shipping out the idiots.

Reason? Would have have a hard working honest illegal for a neighbor than a crook or an idiot. This simple solution would solve a multitude of problems.

if you ship out all the crooks and idiots you're not gonna be left with many people!

and who would be left to vote democratic party?

there won't be any politicians left... they're all crooks.

Edited December 22, 2008 by rocks

[natty bumppo 289]

taps fingers. anyone noticed anything yet?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Hopefully Obama eases up on illegals and more will come here.

yes, they're brazilian, so they must all be illegal

I didn't specify Brazilians, did I? I said illegals.

That distinction only matters if you ignore the context of the OP article

[Nessa 23]

how many is a brazilian?

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

taps fingers. anyone noticed anything yet?

glad someone did. apparently no one is up in arms about illegal brazilians. i wonder why.

how many is a brazilian?

50 more than an argentinian.