Chancellor in US to address plight of Brazilian children

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes landed  in Chicago today (Jul. 5) to meet with a number of officials from North American countries on the separation of Brazilian children from their families after crossing the Mexico–US border. Human Rights Minister Gustavo Rocha is also taking part in the trip.

Today, the ministers are to visit a Heartland Alliance shelter where some Brazilian children separated from their parents are. The Brazilian consular jurisdiction of Chicago is the one with most Brazilian children—33. Next, Nunes and Rocha are to participate in a coordination meeting with Ambassador Maria Dulce Silva Barros, sub-secretary for Brazilian communities and consular and legal affairs of the Brazilian Foreign Relations.

Tomorrow and Saturday, the two ministers are expected to attend meetings with ambassadors as well as consular officials from the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Currently, 55 Brazilian minors are still separated from their families, not to mention children of other nationalities, according to official figures. The splitting comes as a result of the zero tolerance policy against undocumented immigration, implemented in May by US President Donald Trump.