Recently, I produced an in-depth report on immigration. The piece is competing for the Sebrae Journalism Award, one of Brazil's leading awards that recognizes professional journalism. In the report, we focused on Governador Valadares, a city in the state of Minas Gerais known for its strong historical ties with immigration to the United States.

A recent estimate indicates that about 40,000 people from Governador Valadares live in the United States. Across the state of Minas Gerais, at least 100,000 people live in the country, primarily in the Boston and New Jersey areas. According to data released by Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than two million Brazilians live in the United States.

In this chapter of the series Coming Home: The Other Side of Immigration, we will explore the history of this migration flow in Governador Valadares, its main characteristics, and how this movement can help us understand similar phenomena in other regions, cultures, and countries.

The impacts of immigration extend beyond Governador Valadares and reach small towns throughout the region as well. One example is Divino das Laranjeiras, a municipality located about 70 kilometers from Governador Valadares with approximately 4,000 residents.

Historical records indicate that the region in which Divino das Laranjeiras is located had experienced a significant wave of emigration beginning in the late 1970s, driven by economic hardship and the desire to transform quality of life. Decades later, the movement continues. Thousands of people leave their homes, cities, and families to go abroad. This migration flow affects the economy, local customs, and even family relationships.

Researcher Sueli Siqueira, a professor at Universidade Vale do Rio Doce and a specialist in international migration, explains that the region's historical relationship with the United States dates back to the early development of Governador Valadares.

"There are several factors that led this territory to become a point of departure for Brazilians going abroad. These factors are also connected to the fact that this region has been marked by the presence of foreigners," Siqueira said.

According to the researcher, the region's economic development and the presence of foreigners helped create the conditions for Governador Valadares to become an important point of departure for Brazilians heading abroad.

"So, at the beginning of the region's development, there was a significant presence of Italians and Germans, initially because of the mining of mica, a mineral, and later also because Americans worked on the expansion and renovation of the railroad to transport ore from Itabira, in Minas Gerais, to the Tubarão Port Terminal, on the coast of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo," the researcher explained.

The combination of mineral extraction, railroad expansion, and the presence of foreigners helped connect the region with other parts of the world and contributed to building a migration tradition that would span generations.

"So, Governador Valadares was the center of this movement," Sueli Siqueira concluded.

In the next chapter of the series Coming Home: The Other Side of Immigration, we will learn the story of an immigrant who lived in the United States for several years and decided to return to Brazil, to Divino das Laranjeiras.