Effects of US Immigration on Brazilian Return Migrants ' Racial Conceptions: Exploring

a larger dissertation in which each chapter focuses on the impact of US immigration on Brazilian return migrants ’ racial conceptions at three stages: (1) in Brazil before migrating; (2) in the United States as immigrants; and (3) in Brazil after the US migration. Due to page-limit constraints, this paper is a condensed version of the chapter that focuses on Brazilian return migrants ’ racial conceptions while in the US. Despite the growing number of studies examining race relations in Brazil and the experiences of Brazilian immigrants in the US, very few studies have explored the impact of US immigration on how Brazilian immigrants conceptualize, experience, and perceive race in the United States. This paper uses data from qualitative interviews with fifty Brazilian return migrants (Brazilians who immigrated to the US and subsequently returned to Brazil) to learn how living in the US influenced their conceptions of US racial dynamics. Analysis of these interviews revealed that Brazilian return migrants ’ observations of race and race relations and experiences as immigrants in the US fall into four categories: (1) the different social positions of US and Brazilian blacks; (2) the lack of social integration among different ethno-racial groups in the US; (3) difficulty with racial classification, particularly the Latino/Hispanic category; and (4