1. President Lula should legalize all immigrants living in Brazil.
2. Should assist Brazilians who wish to leave Brazil. Brazilians are one of the
fastest growing groups being detained at the Mexico-U.S. border.
3. Should create a program to defend the rights of Brazilians detained by
the Border Patrol or the Immigration Service in the U.S..

Edgardo Quintanilla

Neither Lula nor any of his contenders to lead Brazil had any position on Immigration Law either to welcome immigrants to Brazil or to advise Brazilians seeking a better future outside of Brazil. The emphasis of the presidential debate was the economic future of Brazil. However, the economic future of Brazil is partly tied to its emigration and immigration policy.

This article deals with some ideas for the development of Brazil’s foreign policy in the area of Immigration Law during the presidency of Lula da Silva. The references to Lula below should be read as meaning the government of Lula.

Legalization for All

Any success in Lula’s foreign policy on immigration must show bigness and boldness. Lula’s credo should be to think big, dream big and act big. It shouldn’t have surprised Lula that on the day after his election the major leaders of the world were calling him on the phone. From South Korea, Italy and the United States, the world had taken notice of Lula and the significance of his election.

Lula’s government needs to develop a coherent immigration policy for Brazil. First, Lula should support a legalization program for all immigrants who have made Brazil their second home. Some past articles in Brazzil have dealt with the legacy of Africans, Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Koreans, Japanese and U.S. born Americans to Brazil.

When a country legalizes the immigration status of each one of its inhabitants, it acknowledges the contributions that immigrants make to the local economies. Thus, Lula should avoid perpetuating one of the weaknesses of the United States’s immigration policy, namely, its failure to legalize the immigration status of close to 8 million undocumented people. See Donald T. Griswold, Willing Workers: Fixing the Problem of Illegal Mexican Migration to the United States, CATO Institute, October 15, 2002.

Second, Lula should actively seek immigrants with ideas, money and education who wish to make a difference for Brazil. The key to Lula’s success is to stimulate the local economic markets of Brazil. That is one of the advantages that immigrants with skills and money can make for local economies in Brazil.

Most readers of this magazine would know of at least one American professional, such as a doctor, who wishes to reside in Brazil but who is having a hard time getting their legal residency status in Brazil. In a country of 175 million people with an underdeveloped medical system, what is the fear of Brazilian doctors of let’s say 10,000 foreign doctors? The idea is to stimulate local economies all over Brazil.

In this case, the U.S. is a good example for Lula. Immigrants have made a difference for the United States. The same policy should be emulated by Brazil. Brazil should make it easier for immigrants to make Brazil their home.

A week before Brazilians overwhelmingly voted Lula as their next president, the leaders of big businesses in the United States, such as Bill Gates of the Microsoft empire, made big overtures to Lula that they were ready to do business with Brazil.

Such overtures should be welcomed as long as development involves not only short range business plans, but long term commitments of money, people and capital for the progress of local economies propelled by and for small businesses. Lula’s immigration policy in Brazil should be to allow room for big and small entrepreneurs to go to Brazil without any immigration hindrances as long as the commitment is to develop local economies.

It is possible that during the Lula presidency Brazil may see the creation of the first environmental-conscious Disney resort in the Amazon region. Brazil not only needs a new breed of tourists, but waves of new settlers with ideas, money and education. Lula should thus be willing to welcome back any Brazilian American who wishes to make a difference for Brazil.

Let Them Leave

The Lula presidency should actively assist Brazilians who wish to leave Brazil in order to develop their skills and competence for a new Brazil. The key is to provide access to correct information about immigration laws in Brazil. Lula should encourage legal emigration and discourage the illegal emigration of Brazilians to the United States.

For Americans, one of the greatest attractions of Brazil is the promise of finding a beautiful Brazilian to marry. Consequently, Lula should crack down on sex tourists, but provide greater information on K visas, also know as fiancée visas. A simple link from the Brazilian government to the Web site of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service could be a start. See www.ins.gov 

A K visa is used to seek a non-immigrant visa for a Brazilian who is to be married to an American within 3 months after admission. There is another type of K visa (K3/K4), which is used to petition a Brazilian who is the husband or wife of a U.S. citizen to come to the United States in order to get a green card while in the United States. The process for doing so is called an adjustment of status.

One of the most significant non-immigrant programs that the United States has for professionals is the J Visa. This is a non-immigrant visa program that allows Brazilian professionals to seek advanced training in the United States in order to return to Brazil with greater skills. There should be greater number of Brazilian professional seeking this type of visa.

The Lula government should assist Brazilians who wish to study abroad. Although the U.S. government has increased its monitoring of foreign students, Brazilians who wish to study in the United States under either an F visa or M visa must be prepared to show that they have the economic means to support themselves before they apply for such non-immigrant visas. Brazil may wish to provide such support as a result of a contract for future professional services for the less fortunate.

Brazilians have not made much use of visas available for professionals or university graduates, such as the H1B visa. Starting October 1st, there were 175,000 such non-immigrant visas available for professionals for advanced degrees. During the last fiscal year, about 100,000 H1B visas were left unused. There is no reason why more Brazilian professionals should not apply for such visas.

There is no doubt that during the Lula presidency Brazilians will continue to emigrate by seeking visas through family and employment to the United States. A little known fact is the immediate availability of visa numbers for those Brazilians who obtained their lawful permanent status in the United States before January 1, 1977. This program is called the Western Hemisphere Visa.

As long as a business has the means and resources to petition for a worker, there should not be any deterrent for Brazilian businesses, whether small or large, in the United States to sponsor a willing Brazilian who seek employment opportunities in the United States. The key is for such business to show that it has the resources to pay the offered wages of the future employee.

Defenseless Brazilians

Lastly, the Lula presidency should put the great resources of Brazil to use in the legal defense of Brazilians who are detained by the U.S. government. The Brazilian government does not have an active program that effectively defends the rights of Brazilians who are detained by the Border Patrol or the Immigration Service in the United States.

The identification of Brazilians by consular officers for the purpose of issuing travel documents is not an active legal defense of the rights of Brazilian caught by the U.S. government. Besides such identification, there should be an adequate partnership between Brazil and local or national bar association of lawyers in the United States to refer detained Brazilians to immigration lawyers. Brazilians are one of the fastest growing groups of people who are being detained at the Mexico-U.S. border. This is a movement that Lula will not be able to stop.

Lastly, Lula must show solidarity with the presidents of Mexico and Central America who are seeking legal status for their nationals. Consequently, Lula should publicly support the legalization of all workers in the United States. Not only would such position be excellent public relations, but Brazil also has an economic stake in the economic developments of Mexico and Central America. Lula’s foreign policy should not ignore the need of a coherent Immigration Law policy for Brazil for its future immigrants and emigrants.

Edgardo Quintanilla, Immigration Lawyer in the United States is a member of the State Bar of California and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He can be reached at eqlaw@pacbell.net

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