Brazil to Grant Work Visas to Haitians

Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo said Tuesday that Brazil would grant visas to thousands of Haitians who arrived recently in remote areas of the Amazon seeking work.

The government said it would propose allowing a limited number of additional Haitians to come to Brazil — as many as 100 a month — by granting them temporary visas. But the government also made clear that it would step up the policing of Brazil’s borders with Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, where the Haitians are crossing.

Thousands of Haitians have made arduous journeys to the Brazilian Amazon over the past year in a desperate search for work as Haiti struggles in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Mr. Cardozo said that Brazil would grant work visas to 2,400 Haitians who are stuck in two Amazon border towns and that an additional 1,600 Haitians in Brazil have been given visas already.

Demand for manual labor in Brazil is increasing for projects related to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Job seekers from nations like Pakistan and India who follow similar Amazonian routes to the country are usually expelled, but Brazil has made an exception for Haitians. Some authorities in Brasiléia and Tabatinga, where many Haitians land, have warned of strains trying to feed and house the Haitians while their visa applications are reviewed.