O CASO DIÁSPORA: a chegada de migrantes africanos no Maranhão e a atuação das instituições no estado

Abstract

This dissertation aims to evaluate the performance of legal institutions, namely the Secretariat for Human Rights and Popular Participation (SEDIHPOP) of Maranhão, and its role in welcoming 25 African migrants who arrived in the municipality of São José de Ribamar, in May 2018. This qualitative research is based on phenomenology and adopted a case study and interviews as a methodological strategy to in-depth understand the phenomenon of international migration. The study of the aforementioned phenomena is relevant, once it is inherent to human nature and has significantly influenced the political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic structure of Brazil. In this sense, the present study addresses the Diaspora migratory context and international legislation related to migrations. Besides, the institutions’ performance is evaluated based on the criteria mentioned in articles 3 and 4 of the new Migration Law nº 13,445/2017, which approaches the principles, guidelines, and guarantees of new migration policy in Brazil. The study also describes the history of international migration and the case of Diaspora in Brazil, and analyses the new Migration Law nº 13,445/2017 that revoked the Foreigner Statute. Furthermore, it analyses the new Brazilian migration policy and takes into consideration the need to formulate appropriate public policies that focus on a humanitarian welcoming of migrants and a support to regularize their documents. Finally, the interrelationship between international migration and human rights is approached, based on the need to reformulate the universal theory of human rights. Immigration rights must be recognized as a resistance movement that helps individuals to escape from deprivations that limit humanity and enable them to improve their capabilities.