End of 'Catch and Release' Announced by Trump Worries Brazilians

01/26/2017 - 14h23

The "catch and release" policy, whose end was announced on Wednesday (the 25th) by President Donald Trump, was one of the primary motives for the heightened number of Brazilians emigrating illegally to the United States.

The majority come in by what is referred to as the "once you're caught you're caught" system - they cross the border and then immediately turn themselves in to the border police.

They do this because children who enter the United States illegally can't be automatically deported. Many come in accompanied by a minor child to avoid deportation.

Under the "catch and release" policy, after crossing the border, the emigrants are kept in detention centers for periods that vary from a few days to months.

After this period, the adult is freed with an electronic anklet along with the minor, waiting for an audience with the judicial system which can be years before it takes place.

"It has completely changed the profile of Brazilians who come: ten years ago it was people who came alone or couples without children; now, it's families, due to the "once you're caught you're caught" policy, says Liliane Costa, Executive Director of the Brazilian American Center in the city of Framingham.

Before, many Brazilian came in with tourist visas and simply overstayed the period permitted. But the rate of American visa denials for Brazilians jumped from 5,36% in 2015 (the American fiscal year which ends in September) to 16,7% this fiscal year.

Unable to obtain visas, many Brazilians are turning to coyotes. Up until September, the center was receiving two families per week. Now, it is receiving on average two families per day coming in from the border with Mexico.

The number of undocumented Brazilians in the United States was about 140 thousand (out of a total of around 1,4 million) in 2009.

Starting in 2008, there was a significant exodus of Brazilians out of the United States due to the financial crisis. But with the deteriorating economic scenario in Brazil since 2014, many who had previously gone back to Brazil have ended up returning to the United States.

In the final two months of last year, 940 Brazilians were apprehended after trying to illegally cross the American border.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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