They are packing their suitcases, not to come here but to leave.

Though the numbers are not yet as high as rumors have them, it appears that thousands of Brazilians have given up their American Dream and are returning to their native country to seek a better life.

The U.S. economy, the resurgence of Brazil's, the failure to pass an immigration reform bill, and stricter U.S. immigration laws are some of the factors that contribute to their return.

Still, there are no official figures to confirm this phenomenon and, for the moment, the data come from travel agencies, consulates and some community leaders.

“We do not have confirmed statistics, but there is a feeling that there is a movement to return,” explains Fred Arruda, an official at the Brazilian consulate in New York. “The indicators we have are mixed. Requests for passport validations have not increased, and the electoral register continues to grow. Nevertheless, flights to Brazil continue to be sold out.”

According to an August 2007, inquiry, conducted by the consulate, a majority of the Brazilians in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are thinking about returning to their native country in the near future.

The money remittances of money to relatives in Brazil have also decreased considerably, said Arruda, but this could be explained by the exchange rate. Currently, the Brazilian real is stronger than the dollar; one real for $1.70.

The travel agency Relvas Travel of Mount Vernon – where many Brazilians live – has sensed the trend to return to Brazil.

“Many people have bought one-way tickets to Brazil during the past year, and not as many round-trips,” said an employee.

For Joao de Matos, president of the Brazilian travel agency BACC of Manhattan, one of the reasons could be the impossibility of renewing a driver's license on account of harsher immigration laws.

“The undocumented are the ones who are returning. They're too scared to drive [without a license],” said the entrepreneur.

Still, Hispanics also experience this problem, as well as the insecurity, one imagines, of living in a country with no documents and little possibility of obtaining them. How is it then that they are not returning to their countries in numbers as large as the Brazilians?

It is difficult to know, says Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy. One of the reasons could be the “selectivity” of the immigration authorities, says this expert. According to Falcón, many of the Brazilians who come here are professionals or have achieved a higher degree of education than the Mexicans who come to work here.

For that reason Brazilians have “more options” when the time comes to go back, especially if their country has rebounded [economically].

“But in this climate of hostility toward immigrants, what impact will this have? This group of people is responding by leaving. Maybe this is the beginning of something,” Falcón speculated.

According to official data, there are approximately 1.2 million Brazilians in the United States. In New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania the number is between 350,000 and 400,000.

These numbers are nevertheless conservative, says Consul Arruda, adding that the Brazilians who have returned home lived mostly in Florida and Massachusetts.

Checón Amarilho, the pastor at Our Lady Virgin of Victory, a local church n Mount Vernon, New York, noted that certain groups have gone, but not many.

“There is no massive departure, but there is a significant one. The subject has been somewhat exaggerated. There's a good number of people who will stay. Their children have already gone through school here,” said Amarilho.

Edilberto Luciano Mendes, the editor of the Brazilian daily The Brazilians, says that many Brazilians leave in winter and return to the United States in summer.

“It's not true that all the Brazilians are leaving forever. Brazil is going through some good times, but this is not a phase that resolves the problems of those who leave,” said Mendes.

The Brazilian consulate in Miami recently conducted a survey of moving companies and travel agencies in the area, which revealed a considerable increase in their Brazilian clients since 2005, who used their services to return to their country.

For Eduardo Juárez, president of the International Immigrant Foundation, it is possible that Hispanics have adapted better to the North American lifestyle than the Brazilians.

“It's a way of life. The Brazilians are a very joyous people, very amiable, and they love to party,” said Juárez, who often goes to Brazil. “They miss that. People down there are always smiling.”