Editor’s Note: This article introduces Coming Home, a six-part monthly series by Brazilian journalist Jhonnathas Trindade examining the experiences of immigrants who returned to their countries of origin after living in the United States. The series will explore the past and present social forces behind return migration, followed by the true stories of people rebuilding their lives back home. A new installment will appear in Tribuna CT each month through December 2026.

I am Jhonnathas Trindade, a journalist and reporter for TV Globo (Brazil's largest television network.) For nearly a decade, I have traveled across different regions of Brazil, telling stories that help make sense of the times we live in. Throughout that journey, I have covered major news events, including stories for Jornal Nacional, and I have witnessed moments that have profoundly shaped the lives of thousands of people. With every report, I have learned that behind every headline are ordinary people facing extraordinary challenges. Among the many stories I have covered over the years, one subject has always drawn my attention in a particularly meaningful way: immigration.

An important part of my work takes place in Governador Valadares, a city in the state of Minas Gerais that is nationally recognized for its long-standing connection with immigration to the United States. There, I listened to the stories of men and women who spent years trying to build a new life in another country. I met families separated by distance, workers who endured exhausting routines, people who achieved financial stability, and others who lived each day with the fear of deportation. Despite their different experiences, they all seemed to share the same question: How do you begin again after coming back?

It was through this close contact with their journeys that the series Coming Home was born, which you can follow over the coming months in the pages of Tribuna CT. Through six articles, we will tell the real stories of people who have left the United States and returned to their countries of origin. While the primary focus will be on Brazilians, the series goes far beyond individual experiences. Its purpose is to explore a phenomenon that has taken on new dimensions in recent years, shaped by immigration policy, the economy, identity, expectations, and, above all, lives transformed by decisions that completely changed their course.

Behind every return is a unique story. Some people have been deported. Others chose to return through their own free will. Some came back because of family. Others realized that staying in the United States no longer made sense in light of changing immigration policies, financial hardships, an unstable job market, and uncertainty about the future. Regardless of the reason, they all faced the same challenge: rebuilding their lives.

Throughout this series, we will explore what motivated these decisions, how U.S. government policies affected the lives of immigrants, and the emotional, social, and economic impact of returning home. We will also discover what it is like to return to your country of origin after years of living in another culture, adopting new customs, and building an identity between two worlds. After all, going home does not necessarily mean finding the same place you left behind. Time changes cities, families, and it also changes those who leave.

Readers will also learn about the challenges of reentering the workforce, rebuilding family relationships, adapting to a reality that is no longer the one they left, and planning for the future. Are there enough opportunities to start over? Is it possible to rebuild a life in Brazil? Or does the American Dream continue to live on, even after returning home? These questions will guide every chapter of the series, always from the perspective of those who have lived through this experience.

More than presenting numbers or statistics, Coming Home seeks to give people a voice, because every migration story is made up of choices, losses, hopes, and new beginnings. And understanding these journeys also means understanding the transformations they bring and the challenges of a world increasingly shaped by human mobility.

I invite you to join me on this journey through Coming Home. In the coming editions of Tribuna CT, we will explore the realities of local migration and meet people whose baggage represents far more than documents or suitcases. They carry stories of courage, hope, resilience, and the difficult realization that, sometimes, coming home is only the beginning of a new journey.

To contact Jhonnathas Trindade, email jhonnathastrindade@gmail.com.