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Judge weighs special master to test DOJ's 20,000-name California voter roll claim Polls close from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 3; close races may take days U.S. to grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and family after Brazil election loss Federal workers ask judge to block USDA Secretary Rollins' religious mass emails Judge disqualifies Trump-appointed prosecutor Bill Essayli from cases over overstay Senate control may take days or weeks to settle as tight races and a Georgia runoff loom Senate Republicans privately see Ohio slipping and Alaska, Kansas grim six days out Trump EPA moves to ease methane leak rules for oil wells a week before the midterms On tape: Van Hollen asks Kash Patel if he knows lying to Congress is a crime. Patel won't say yes. On tape: Abdul El-Sayed on ICE: "I don't think it can be reformed. We have to abolish it and start from scratch." Judge weighs special master to test DOJ's 20,000-name California voter roll claim Polls close from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 3; close races may take days U.S. to grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and family after Brazil election loss Federal workers ask judge to block USDA Secretary Rollins' religious mass emails Judge disqualifies Trump-appointed prosecutor Bill Essayli from cases over overstay Senate control may take days or weeks to settle as tight races and a Georgia runoff loom Senate Republicans privately see Ohio slipping and Alaska, Kansas grim six days out Trump EPA moves to ease methane leak rules for oil wells a week before the midterms On tape: Van Hollen asks Kash Patel if he knows lying to Congress is a crime. Patel won't say yes. On tape: Abdul El-Sayed on ICE: "I don't think it can be reformed. We have to abolish it and start from scratch."

Immigration · Report · File No. 261028-833

U.S. to grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and family after Brazil election loss

A senior State Department official says the defeated Brazilian senator and Trump ally will be allowed into the U.S., even as Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered him to surrender his passports in a criminal investigation.

By the National Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (1) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/PR, CC BY 2.0

The United States will issue visas to Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them into the country, a senior State Department official told CBS News and The Hill on Tuesday 12. The decision came after Bolsonaro, an ally of President Trump, lost Brazil's presidential runoff on Sunday to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 1.

Bolsonaro left Brazil after the loss, according to multiple Brazilian media reports 1. Brazil's Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday in connection with alleged financial crimes, and it was unclear whether he had complied 12. Courthouse News reported that the travel ban was imposed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes as part of a criminal investigation into Bolsonaro's ties to Willer Tomaz, a lawyer and longtime friend suspected of money laundering 3. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing 3.

On tapeCBS News · Oct 28
CBS News report: State Department official says U.S. will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and familyVideo: CBS News on YouTube, “U.S. granting visas to Brazil's Bolsonaro and his family after election loss, official says”. It plays from YouTube when you press play.

Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, received more than 64 million votes to fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4% 1. Bolsonaro has refused to concede and has made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud 1. Trump said Monday, without providing evidence, that Brazil's election was "rigged" 1.

Bolsonaro's brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, had publicly encouraged him to leave Brazil if he lost 1. Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison, and a warrant was recently issued for his arrest 1. Their father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup after his 2022 election loss to Lula 1.

From Channel GOPTrump on the Alaska ballot and the DOJ suitDonald Trump · 223 plays · captioned, with the source named

The elder Bolsonaro fled Brazil for Florida after that 2022 defeat and returned three months later 1. Trump said of this year's race: "I didn't take sides, but it looked like another rigged election, frankly" 2.

What happens next

Brazil's Federal Police have not confirmed Bolsonaro's whereabouts 3. Argentine immigration authorities said early Tuesday there were "no records whatsoever of Flávio Bolsonaro entering the Argentine Republic," nor any flight plans involving the Bolsonaro family 3. Bolsonaro faces at least two criminal investigations before Brazil's Supreme Court 3. His Senate term ends in January 3.

On tapePBS NewsHour · Oct 27
Oct. 27 PBS News Wrap: State Department says it will provide U.S. visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and familyVideo: PBS NewsHour on YouTube, “News Wrap: U.S. providing visas to Bolsonaro and family after loss in Brazil's election”. It plays from YouTube when you press play.

That matters because the visa decision puts the U.S. government's welcome mat behind a foreign politician under investigation at home, six days before American midterm elections in which immigration enforcement is already a central issue. The pattern is familiar: Trump's administration has aligned itself with Bolsonaro's family before, and the elder Bolsonaro's own flight to Florida in 2022 shows how such departures can play out.

The Record

  1. Lula defeats Bolsonaro in Brazil's presidential runoff, receiving more than 64 million votes to fewer than 60 million 1.
  2. Brazil's Supreme Court orders Bolsonaro to surrender his passports; Trump says the election was "rigged" 12.
  3. A senior State Department official says the U.S. will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family 123.

Sources

  1. CBS News, “U.S. issuing visas to Brazil's Flávio Bolsonaro and family, official says” (2026-10-27). cbsnews.com/news/brazil-flavio-bolsonaro-u-s-visa-presidenti
  2. The Hill, “Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil for US after losing election: Reports” (2026-10-27). thehill.com/policy/international/6176061-flavio-bolsonaro-fl
  3. Courthouse News, “Flávio Bolsonaro reportedly flees Brazil for US after travel ban” (2026-10-27). courthousenews.com/flavio-bolsonaro-reportedly-flees-brazil-

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