O.k so this has changed a lot, that’s why I stated the dates of my experience with it in my first post. I still don’t really have a lot of inside scoop for that 90’s time frame though I still have some friends from those circles. I just really didn’t want to know.
At the time Brazil and the U.S. were squabbling a lot over visa requirements. I think Brazil said ,” if we need Visas so do you to visit our country”. I believe since then you needed a Visa to go to Brazil. Maybe there was some political situation that gave some visa overstaying immigrants some official of unofficial latitude. At the time, undocumented Mexicans certainly were not having much trouble living and working in the USA either. Though I know of one guy from Acupulco who was deported. He was in a criminal jail for something first though. Came back and is fine, married with kids now.