Brazilian asylum seekers in the U.S. tripled

Brazilian asylum seekers in the U.S. tripled from October 2022 to June, according to AG Immigration.

Asylum requests increased from 206 to 695 during this period. The US government received 295,000 asylum petitions since the fiscal year started.

Brazilian citizens accounted for 3,417 (1.1%), ranking Brazil 17th among nationalities seeking immigration benefits.

There were 1,622 requests in the same period of the previous fiscal year. May saw the highest demand for asylum from Brazilians, with 777 requests.

Ana Barbara Schaffert, an immigration attorney at AG immigration, explained that Brazilians fleeing violence or poverty often get caught at the US-Mexico border.

They intend to request asylum and gain authorization to reside in the USA. However, living in violent or extremely poor areas does not make one eligible for asylum.

Applicants must prove credible fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group membership.

Cuba (74,000), Venezuela (67,000), Colombia (25,000), Nicaragua (23,000), and Haiti (18,000) topped the list of asylum requests from October to June, accounting for 70% of the total.

Afghanistan ranked seventh with about 10,000 requests.

US Department of Justice data shows that only 11% of asylum requests from Brazilians were accepted in the first half of the current fiscal year.

This is the tenth-lowest approval rate among 65 countries with available data.

The US hosts the largest Brazilian community abroad, with 1.9 million Brazilians. This number includes all types of residents, not just asylum seekers.

Portugal (360,000), Paraguay (254,000), the UK (220,000), and Japan (207,000) also have significant Brazilian populations.