Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 2
·
November 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
14
Brazilian government, through Resolution 102 of April 26 2013, removed the limit on visas and
extended the number of consulates where they could be obtained, beyond Port-au-Prince. This
measure is expected to establish better control at the borders and to have those who enter
irregularly be notified to leave Brazil, or they will remain undocumented. These challenges
already have been experienced by other immigrant groups, like Bolivians, who in general have
few skills and are ethnically differentiated from Brazilians (Silva 2008b).
It is imperative at the present moment of economic development and political stability in
Brazil to implement a new migratory policy that contemplates the multi-layered nature of
migration today; combining immigration, emigration, refugees status and people in transit. In this
sense, it is worth highlighting the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have
proposed governmenal policies whose central focus is the protection of the rights of migrant
workers, whether skilled or not. Nevertheless, this discussion seems not to have reached the
Senate committee who, in 2011, together with the national Order of Brazilian Lawyers, prepared
a draft proposal for the reformulation of the Brazilian Criminal Code, which is now under
discussion as Bill 236/2012. Chapter XV of this Bill, regarding crimes related to foreigners, does
not go beyond the spirit of Law 6.815/80, whose main concern was the repression of ‘crimes
against national security’, which are now ‘mitigated’, according to the senator responsible for
drafting a report on the Bill. By maintaining the criminalization of those who hide irregular
foreigners in the country, or who omit information to get them recognition for refugee status, the
Bill criminalizes everyone indistinctly, lumping together the coyotes, the immigrants and their
support networks.
It is worth recalling that a Bill (5.655/09), which should replace the current migratory
legislation, continues to be discussed in the Brazilian Congress. Although the proposal has
advanced, for example, in defining the modalities of entrance visas in Brazil, including
humanitarian entrance visas, it maintains the distrust of current law in regard to foreigners by
prohibiting their ‘activities in political parties’ and ‘organizing, creating, or maintaining
association with any entities of a political character’ (Art.8). From this perspective, immigrants
continue to be treated as foreigners, and are far from being recognized as full citizens.
Meanwhile, as the Bill proposing a new regulatory framework for migration policies was
being discussed in the National Congress, in 2010, the National Immigration Council (CNIg) of
the Ministry of Justice submitted for public evaluation a proposal for a ‘National Immigration
and Protection Policy for the Migrant Worker.’ Although backed by the 1990 U.N. Convention
on The Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, it has
not yet been ratified by Brazil.
On one hand, these proposals illustrate contradictions on how migration is seen within the
government. On the other, the resolutions and agreements already signed by Brazil on a regional
and international level seek to incorporate the demands of the immigrants and of the
organizations involved with these issues. According to Patarra (2012), this shows Brazil’s clear
