[SENATE] Bill to Reform Certain Immigration Laws

[Smyg]

Colleagues and comrades, you'll forgive the length of the bill I propose today, now that the Chamber has been extensively cleared out of active motions, I hope. It is necessary to provide a historical and contemporary background to the matter at hand.

Bill to Reform Certain Immigration Laws

Whereas the Republic of the United States of Brazil has a population of which to a very high percentage are considered as Pardo (of mixed Black African, Indian and European heritage), and additionally around every tenth Brazilian is considered as Preto (of predominantly African origin),

Whereas Brazil signed a Convention of Arbitration with the Republic of Haiti, a state inhabited predominantly by Americans of Black African origin and a fellow founding member of the League of Nations, in the year 1910, and just recently in the year 1928 established diplomatic relations with said Republic with the opening of mutual embassies,

Whereas Brazil has maintained a consulate in the city of Cape Town in the predominantly Black African-inhabited territory known as the Union of South Africa, to which it is a fellow founding member of the League of Nations, since 1918,

Whereas Brazil has had diplomatic relations with the Black African state known as the Republic of Liberia since the year 1852, after which a treaty of friendship and commerce was signed, followed by the Treaty on Judicial Settlement of Controversies in the year 1925, in addition to joint status as participants in the Great War against the Central Powers and as founding members of the League of Nations,

Whereas Brazil and the Black African state known as the Abyssinian Empire have interacted as members of the League of Nations since Abyssinia's entry into that organisation on 28 September 1923,

Whereas Brazil and the Portuguese Colony of Angola have always had maintained strong ties, with Friar Gonçalo João in the year 1646 stating that "Without Angola, there is no Brazil", and significant considerations from the inhabitants of Luanda and Benguela to declare a Brazilian-Angolan transatlantic confederation after Brazil's independence in 1822,

Whereas Brazil has always likewise maintained strong ties with the other African colonies of Portuguese, joined by a mutual faith, language and colonial history, such as Cape Verde, Guinea, and above all Moçambique, where several of the Brazilian republican independence heroes of the Inconfidência Mineira of the year 1789 lay buried, such as Tomás António Gonzaga (in addition to others buried in Angola, such as Alvarenga Peixoto),

Whereas thousands of Black Brazilians have been repatriated and, until the year 1920, in large numbers emigrated to the British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, especially to the capital of Lagos where they in the 1880s were approximately 9% of the population, and today yet maintain the Roman Catholic faith and occupy a "Brazilian Quarter", with extensive 19th century trade between Lagos and the Empire of Brazil,

Whereas another important Afro-Brazilian community survives in the British Colony of the Gold Coast, the Tabom people, among whom the memory of Brazil and surnames of Portuguese origin remain vivid,

Whereas Brazil maintains strong commercial ties to several nations which maintain colonies predominantly populated by Black African peoples, such as Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal,

Whereas despite all these very positive historical and modern connections to Black independent states, Black subjugated peoples and Black free citizens of other nations, and despite the significant number of Brazilians with African roots, the Republic of the United States of Brazil maintain a complete and utter prohibition on the entry and immigration of Black people into Brazil,

• Section 1. The Republic of the United States of Brazil shall revoke all articles of law specifically prohibiting the entry and immigration of Black people into Brazil. These include among others Article 1 of the law introduced by Representatives Andrade Bezerra and Cincinato Braga on 28 July 1921, stating that "The immigration of individuals from the black race to Brazil is prohibited", and Article 5 of the law introduced by Representative Fidélis Reis on 22 October 1923, stating that "The entry of settlers from the black race into Brazil is prohibited."

• Section 2. The complete abolition of these discriminative regulations shall go into direct and full enactment no later than within one year, 365 days, of this bill entering effect.

• Section 3. To replace these regulations and ensure a stable and safe transition for the people and state of Brazil, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall during this subsequent year after passage be tasked with formulating a cohesive case-by-case policy regarding the entry of colonial subjects from European-owned territories on the African continent, adapted to the needs of Brazil as it sees fit, in addition to formulating a cohesive entry and immigrant visa policy in regards to, and beginning talks on said matter with, the Republic of Haiti, the Union of South Africa, the Republic of Liberia, and the Abyssinian Empire.

• Section 4. This bill shall go into effect thirty-one (31) days after passage.

[Flaming Bolshevik]

No. Our first and foremost priority should be safeguarding the futures of Brazilians, not immigrants. We have enough to deal with.

[Red John]

We support this bill, and need not voice the reasons why - our colleagues have adequately outlined a multitude of reasons to support such a forward thinking bill.

[Smyg]

We support this bill, and need not voice the reasons why - our colleagues have adequately outlined a multitude of reasons to support such a forward thinking bill.

Thank you, sir.

In response to our esteemed fascist colleague from the AIB, this bill does not take into account safeguarding immigrants or not. It is simply a matter of allowing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to evaluate a coherent foreign policy tailored to the Brazilian government's needs in place of a cumbersome blanket ban.

[Smyg]

If there are no further concerns, we ask that this be moved to a voting stage.

[Luc]

Sebastião do Rego Barros, President of the Chamber of Deputies

We will accept the motion, we will now entertain a vote on this bill.

[Smyg]

The Communist Party of Brazil (4) naturally votes IN FAVOUR of this bill.

[acecipher]

The Social Democratic Party of Brasil (27) Votes Yes.

We should not be beholden to the 18th Century thinking in the matter of thinking on our immigration policies.

[Snacks]

We believe our colleague from the Communist Party has already made a firm case, and wholeheartedly support the revising of a set of laws as despicable in its motivations as it is embarrassing and onerous to shaping future policy. Black Brazilians are as much a part of our people as any man or woman of lighter skin, and the Workers and Peasants Party (2) gladly votes In Favor of this bill.

[Red John]

The Liberal Democratic Party (91) will vote yes.

[Flamelord]

The Federal Union Party (91) votes Yes on this bill

[LordMoose]

the PL votes for this bill with all 15 members

[Luc]

The Democratic Party (42) votes IN FAVOUR of this bill.

The Socialist Revolutionary Party (3) votes IN FAVOUR of this bill.

[Smyg]

Now we await the highly respected ANL, I suppose.

[Westar]

After much consideration, the National Liberal Alliance (70) will vote in favour.