WBO participates in coordination for Brazilian immigrants in the US
WBO Press Release
Mar 17 2025
The Washington Brazil Office (WBO) is supporting a coordination created to defend Brazilian immigrants in the United States. The initiative is coordinated by the United States Network for Democracy in Brazil (USNDB), a network formed by Brazilian and U.S. academics and activists in the US.
On March 7, two representatives of the WBO – James N. Green, the chairman of the Board of Directors, Iman Musa Jadallah, the public relations specialist, – participated in a meeting to coordinate the group, which was attended by the Brazilian ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.
In addition to the WBO and the USNDB, Defend Democracy in Brazil, Brazilian Women’s Group, Instituto Diáspora Brasil, Florida Immigrant Coalition, and Brazilians for Democracy (BRADEM) participated in this first meeting.
On January 29, the WBO and the USNDB launched a joint petition regarding the treatment given to Brazilian immigrants in the United States. The petition was addressed to U.S. and Brazilian authorities.
The document specifically mentioned the case of the 88 Brazilian citizens sent from the United States to Brazil on January 25. At the time, the group reported having been kept chained by their hands and feet for many hours, inside an aircraft in which it was very hot, without access to a bathroom, deprived of hydration and adequate food. Some were physically assaulted by American agents and left with marks on their bodies. Several reported having been the object of insults and verbal abuse. The flight was a mix of children and adults, all kept equally in unsanitary, degrading and humiliating conditions, with their feet and hands chained.
“Trump is ignoring the Constitution and violating court decisions, which puts us in a very serious constitutional crisis when it comes to deportations,” said James N. Green, chairman of the WBO Board of Directors. “What happens in the United States is that Trump does so many negative things at once that sometimes the public loses track of what is happening. Because of this, some people think that the immigration issue has been left behind, but in fact it is an agenda that he continues to push forward with full force.”
