BRASILIA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday reaffirmed his decision to pull the country out of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact for Migration, saying migration policies must be defined on the national level.
The president tweeted that he wants immigrants to Brazil to sing the national anthem and respect the country's culture.
"Brazilians and the immigrants who live here will be safer with rules we define on our own, without outside pressure," Bolsonaro tweeted, adding that he won't refuse to help those crossing the border.
The agreement, which sets goals to better manage migration, is a comprehensive treaty which entails international cooperation to fight irregular migration and provides fair treatment for immigrants, including about 3 million Brazilians living abroad, according to Brazil's former Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira.
It was signed in December 2018 by 163 countries, including Brazil.
A recent survey by polling company Datafolha indicates that 42 percent of Brazilian citizens "completely agree" with the idea of tighter control over immigration to Brazil, with an additional 24 percent saying they somewhat agree.
Ferreira once expressed his concern over the pull-out, saying the move will cause problems for Brazilians living abroad.
Migration is "indeed a global issue," he said in December. "All regions of the world are affected by migrations, sometimes as origin points, sometimes as transit points and sometimes as destinations. That is the reason for the need for global responses."
