Latinos in Massachusetts: Brazilians
Early Brazilian migration to Massachusetts traces itself to the 1970s, and large-scale migration began in the mid-1980s. Though earlier Brazilian migrants settled in Boston and Somerville, by 1990s Brazilians had begun to disperse to Framingham and other cities and towns across the Boston metropolitan area and on Cape Cod. Brazilians have a large unauthorized population and have few avenues to obtain citizenship. Due to their precarious legal status in the United States, many believe that the American Community Survey (ACS) estimates used for this report undercounts the Brazilian population. In 2015, the Brazilian Consulate in Boston estimates 350,000 Brazilians living in their jurisdiction while this report estimates 109,786 Brazilians living in Massachusetts in 2017. These ACS data are the most comprehensive and thus provide the best estimate of demographic, economic, and social characteristics of Brazilians in Massachusetts.
Granberry, P., & Valentino, K. (2020, April). Latinos in Massachusetts: Brazilians. Gastón Institute Publications. https://scholarworks.umb.edu/gaston_pubs/251/