Worcester Business Journal: Brazilian-Americans have transformed MetroWest communities like Framingham and Marlborough

Overall, Massachusetts is one of the biggest destinations in the U.S. for people from Brazil. And Brazilians are among the most-represented immigrant groups throughout communities in Central Massachusetts.

In general, Brazilian-born Massachusetts residents earn considerably less than their native-born peers, according to the Census. Median full-time annual earnings for men from Brazil were $47,000 in 2017, compared with $66,000 for the state’s male general population. The difference for women: $30,000 for those from Brazil, compared with $55,000 for all state residents.

Raquel Riberti-Bill, program director at ProGente Connections in Framingham and Marlborough, said one reason is U.S. employers may not accept the professional qualifications immigrants bring with them from Brazil.

“We see a lot of Brazilians who hold teaching credentials in Brazil, and they’re here working as a cleaner,” Riberti-Bill said. “We want to make sure they have the same chances as everybody else in this country.”

ProGente, a nonprofit working with local churches, offers educational programming to bridge the gap between Brazilian immigrants and others in MetroWest. It initially offered classes in Portuguese as a heritage language to help new generations of kids keep their families’ language. Now, it provides English classes for the general public.