Brazilian Town Empties as Migration to US Increases
2021-12-06
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Ana Paula Souza, her husband and their young son are among the hundreds of families that have left the small Brazilian town of Alpercata in recent months.
2Alpercata is home to about 7,500 people.
3It is in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
4People have left the area to come to the United States for many years.
5But the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly weakened the economy.
6Now, people are leaving almost daily.
7The town's local bakery does not have enough workers.
8Government employees have quit their jobs.
9Local soccer teams are out of players.
10"Alpercata is emptying out," said Souza, who is 23 years old.
11"Everyone is leaving."
12Souza now lives in Orlando, Florida. She has a job at a bakery.
13Her husband is working in the building industry.
14Many people are leaving Alpercata and other nearby towns because of the effects of the pandemic.
15COVID-19 has killed more than 600,000 people in Brazil.
16In Latin America overall, there has been an increase in immigration to the U.S.
17The area has been hit hard by the virus.
18Record numbers of Brazilians, Haitians and Venezuelans are appearing at the southern U.S. border.
19Brazilians ranked sixth among the nationalities detained at the border between October 2020 and September 2021, data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show.
20A record 56,735 Brazilians were stopped.
21Earlier waves of migration were mostly poor young men who quickly returned home.
22But this wave is bringing professional workers that are harder for Brazil to replace, officials told the Reuters news agency.
23Nurses, engineers and even city officials are leaving.
24Many of them have no plans to return.
25In Alpercata, the mayor's office is the town's top employer.
26Almost 5 percent of the 162 employees at the office fled to the United States this year.
27Many are also taking their families.
28A U.S. asylum policy permits some nationalities, including Brazilians,
29to remain in the United States while they argue their claims.
30It is a legal process that can take years.
31A total of 99 percent of Brazilian families who were stopped at the U.S. southern border in fiscal year 2021 entered the country to argue cases in immigration court, CBP data show.
32Alpercata's schools have lost 10 percent of their 926 students so far this year, said the town's education secretary.
33Many of these families join Brazilian communities in Florida or Massachusetts.
34They are able find some of the 10.4 million jobs currently unfilled in the United States.
35Jorge Estefesson is Alpercata's top sports official.
36"We're scared that in the future, we're going to be an elderly city without young people," he said.
37Officials in the United States also are concerned.
38Most Brazilian migrants reach the United States through Mexico, where they enter as tourists without visas.
39Some go to Mexican border cities before turning themselves in to U.S. officials to claim asylum.
40The U.S. has been pressuring Mexico to stop permitting Brazilians to enter without visas to help stop their trip to the border.
41Last week, Mexico said that by mid-December, it would require all Brazilians to have visas in order to enter Mexico.
42Such action has been effective at preventing immigrants from other countries from entering Mexico.
43But Brazil's weakened economy likely means people will continue to travel north, officials told Reuters.
44A strong U.S. dollar is also driving immigration.
45The dollar is up more than 50 percent against the Brazilian real since late 2018, when President Jair Bolsonaro was elected.
46Since Bolsonaro's election, the number of Brazilians detained at the southern U.S. border rose more than 3,500 percent.
47Brazilians living overseas are now sending $300 million to $400 million back home each month, central bank data found.
48The money is welcome. But Alpercata still faces a shortage of healthcare workers and engineers, said the town's mayor.
49Egnalda Oliveira works at a city school. She is also a single mother.
50She said the deaths of her husband and parents, along with a rise in inflation, have left her struggling to make enough money.
51"If I could leave tomorrow," she said, "I would."
52I'm Dan Novak.
1Ana Paula Souza, her husband and their young son are among the hundreds of families that have left the small Brazilian town of Alpercata in recent months. 2Alpercata is home to about 7,500 people. It is in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais. People have left the area to come to the United States for many years. But the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly weakened the economy. 3Now, people are leaving almost daily. 4The town's local bakery does not have enough workers. Government employees have quit their jobs. Local soccer teams are out of players. 5"Alpercata is emptying out," said Souza, who is 23 years old. "Everyone is leaving." 6Souza now lives in Orlando, Florida. She has a job at a bakery. Her husband is working in the building industry. 7Many people are leaving Alpercata and other nearby towns because of the effects of the pandemic. COVID-19 has killed more than 600,000 people in Brazil. 8In Latin America overall, there has been an increase in immigration to the U.S. The area has been hit hard by the virus. Record numbers of Brazilians, Haitians and Venezuelans are appearing at the southern U.S. border. 9Brazilians ranked sixth among the nationalities detained at the border between October 2020 and September 2021, data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show. A record 56,735 Brazilians were stopped. 10Earlier waves of migration were mostly poor young men who quickly returned home. But this wave is bringing professional workers that are harder for Brazil to replace, officials told the Reuters news agency. 11Nurses, engineers and even city officials are leaving. Many of them have no plans to return. In Alpercata, the mayor's office is the town's top employer. Almost 5 percent of the 162 employees at the office fled to the United States this year. 12Many are also taking their families. A U.S. asylum policy permits some nationalities, including Brazilians, to remain in the United States while they argue their claims. It is a legal process that can take years. A total of 99 percent of Brazilian families who were stopped at the U.S. southern border in fiscal year 2021 entered the country to argue cases in immigration court, CBP data show. 13Alpercata's schools have lost 10 percent of their 926 students so far this year, said the town's education secretary. 14Many of these families join Brazilian communities in Florida or 15Massachusetts. They are able find some of the 10.4 million jobs currently unfilled in the United States. 16Jorge Estefesson is Alpercata's top sports official. "We're scared that in the future, we're going to be an elderly city without young people," he said. 17Officials in the United States also are concerned. 18Most Brazilian migrants reach the United States through Mexico, where they enter as tourists without visas. Some go to Mexican border cities before turning themselves in to U.S. officials to claim asylum. The U.S. has been pressuring Mexico to stop permitting Brazilians to enter without visas to help stop their trip to the border. 19Last week, Mexico said that by mid-December, it would require all Brazilians to have visas in order to enter Mexico. Such action has been effective at preventing immigrants from other countries from entering Mexico. But Brazil's weakened economy likely means people will continue to travel north, officials told Reuters. 20A strong U.S. dollar is also driving immigration. The dollar is up more than 50 percent against the Brazilian real since late 2018, when President Jair Bolsonaro was elected. 21Since Bolsonaro's election, the number of Brazilians detained at the southern U.S. border rose more than 3,500 percent. Brazilians living overseas are now sending $300 million to $400 million back home each month, central bank data found. 22The money is welcome. But Alpercata still faces a shortage of healthcare workers and engineers, said the town's mayor. 23Egnalda Oliveira works at a city school. She is also a single mother. She said the deaths of her husband and parents, along with a rise in inflation, have left her struggling to make enough money. 24"If I could leave tomorrow," she said, "I would." 25I'm Dan Novak. 26Reuters reported this story. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 27_______________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29replace - v. to be used instead of 30nurse - n. a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people and who usually works in a hospital or doctor's office 31mayor - n. an official who is elected to be the head of the government of a city or town 32elderly - adj. old or rather old 33tourist - n. person who travels to a place for pleasure