Migrações na microrregião de Governador Valadares aos Estados Unidos da América via "cai-cai": desafios e percepções sobre o processo de deportação a partir de um caso exemplar

Abstract

This study examines the migration imperative of the population from the Microrregion of Governador Valadares (MGV) to the United States, particularly through the irregular route known as the cai-cai. From a socio-historical perspective, it explores the factors driving local out-migration as well as the challenges encountered during deportation. The research adopts an exploratory, descriptive, and analytical approach, drawing on the exemplary case of William, a deportee from the region. His account reveals rights violations, degrading conditions of custody, and the absence of institutional support upon returning to Brazil, while also highlighting the structural and recurrent nature of irregular migration. The findings underscore the contradiction between international commitments to the protection of migrants and the practical reality of exclusion and criminalization faced by these individuals.