Massachusetts is home to the second largest Brazilian population in the United States, but the community remains relatively unknown, according to a new report. The community is also the state’s largest immigrant population, and has been since 2010.
The research project conducted by Instituto Diáspora Brasil and commissioned through the Latino Equity Fund at The Boston Foundation aims to bring to light Brazilians’ “migratory trajectory,” and what their lived experiences have brought to the table in Massachusetts, both culturally and economically. Among those are successes, like the strong streak of entrepreneurship in the community, and also challenges, like obtaining English language proficiency and obtaining professional licensure.
“The report gives us visibility of this community, something that we often overlook, especially when we talk about Latinos. Unfortunately, the census does not include Brazilians in the Latino category,” said Javier Juarez, executive director of the Latino Equity Fund. He said the effort is advocacy not just for the Spanish-speaking Latino community, but also the Portuguese community that identifies as Brazilian.
Juarez and report co-author Álvaro de Castro e Lima believe that beyond the 140,000 Brazilian residents who the report notes, but that number could be possibly doubled to take into account undocumented people and those who the census labeled differently.
“I think in the 2020 census there was a huge undercount,” said de Castro e Lima, of Instituto Diáspora Brasil. That undercount can impact a lack of public funding for the schools and services the community needs.
Economics and immigration status
The first Brazilian immigrants to Massachusetts arrived in earnest during World War II. Local companies mined deposits of mica — a mineral used in radio equipment — from the state of Minas Gerais and exported it to the United States. Since then, many waves of immigrants have come to the Bay State for many reasons — the most recent beginning in 2015, for reasons related to Brazil’s economic issues, urban violence and political upheaval.
Since the 1980s, the population has exploded, with many Brazilians living in Everett, Framingham and Greater Boston.
According to the report, in 2022, 84% of Brazilian immigrants were of working age (18 to 64 years old), highlighting the importance of “work in the mobility of Brazilian immigrants.”
Brazilian entrepreneurs own approximately 24,488 medium-sized and growing companies in the state, in the sectors of real estate development, civil construction, law, accounting, restaurants and domestic services.
“Arriving here with all this willingness to succeed, finding a network ... you can exchange experience, you find some support,” said report co-author Mariana Dutra of Instituto Diáspora Brasil.
In 2022, Brazilian immigrant workers contributed around $8 billion to the gross state product, according to the report, and $219.8 million in income tax.
Barriers and insights
Lack of immigration documentation, language barriers and low access to healthcare are the major barriers for Massachusetts’ Brazilian population.
In 2022, almost 30% of Brazilian immigrants had obtained American citizenship. The Brazilian population with American citizenship, those naturalized and those born in the United States, totals 43% of Brazilians living in Massachusetts.
Over 50% of Brazilians are noncitizen and arrived in the United States between 2010 and 2020.
“Pathways to citizenship are scarce for undocumented Brazilians, but several factors impact the overall level of naturalization, even for lawful residents. The barriers to the regularization of immigration status are immense,” reads the report, noting that in particular, the citizenship process is long and expensive.
More than a third of Brazilians struggle to speak English, or not at all, according to report, affecting employment, knowledge of worker rights, and access to services.
“We need more support for folks to learn the language — it’s crucial for integration and the labor market, for their civic and social participation,” said de Castro e Lima.
The report notes that many Brazilian workers are employed in precarious jobs, and aren’t aware that they’re being exploited, or of their rights.
“Some of the bad actors are taking advantage, sometimes even from the [Brazilian] community,” said Dutra.
Report authors say that there are a number of other insights to take away. Among them: supporting legislation in Congress that recognizes the contributions of immigrants to the Social Security system and guarantees access to the benefits for older adults without immigration status; expanding labor protections for Brazilian immigrants who aren’t permanent residents; and to support the creation of a forum for Brazilian community organizations, so groups can share strategies and boost their impact.
“Labor rights and education around labor rights, it’s one of the important takeaways from and actually one of the main supports that our community needs,” Dutra said.
There’s one significant silver lining: The Brazilian community has achieved growing political representation, with the election of three state representatives, a councilwoman in Everett, and a member of Everett’s school board.
But the work continues as Massachusetts Brazilians prepare for the arrival of more immigrants, and work to uplift their own. Juarez said expanding financial support for the work of Brazilian organizations in population hubs is also a solution.
“Framingham being a perfect example of that, right, providing services like ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] and computer literacy and all these other programs that specifically target the Brazilian community — we work directly with the Brazilian Workers Center,” said Juarez.
