Wall of Visas: How Race Impacts the Externalisation of (Forced) Migration Control in Brazil

Externalisation is the process where countries use different strategies to extend their borders beyond their territorial limits. The media and literature have called attention to the externalisation strategies of so-called 'developed countries', such as agreements between the European Union and Turkey, the United Kingdom and Rwanda and the Australian policies to stop the boats. Externalisation practices of 'developing countries', however, not only are understudied, but they are also normally implemented differently, with greater use of visas as a hidden type of and more cost-effective externalisation strategy. Moreover, there is little research on whether or not these countries’ externalisation practices are racially determined. In this paper, we hope to partly fill this gap, by studying the case of Brazil, and we demonstrate how it uses humanitarian visas for Haitians and family reunification visas for refugees (mainly Sub-Saharan Africans) as an externalisation strategy to control the (forced) migration of racialised people to Brazil. We draw from thematic analysis of Brazilian legislation, minutes from decision-making meetings on asylum policies and diplomatic correspondence obtained in archival research. We conclude by showing that, despite having a liberal migration policy based on human rights, which includes supposedly 'welcoming' visas, Brazil's visa policies instead function as an important externalisation strategy which operates as a metaphorical ‘racial wall’, keeping racialised (mainly black) (forced) migrants out, and preventing them from receiving protection in the country.