I fear there are too many countries who do not want Americans to come there. We are not held in high esteem as we once were. America was a country who welcomed those 'regular' people as well as those who were looking for asylum from oppression and danger. For an American citizen, there are no safe harbors unless they have something of significance to offer, or enough money. Many many lives will be twisted and destroyed as a result of the current situation. Oppression has come to our shores.
Celeste, I hope that is not true. It is not true in Germany. Most people around where I live seems to understand that all Americans are not Trump. A big concern is that they are shutting Embassies down. I have not been hearing of a change from Americans Abroad. Europe has an aging population that is not being replaced in full. Most countries here need people to come and work. I realize that is in particularly professions. If one is a student or retired it becomes easier.
I think Americans can be viewed as individuals. So, even if someone thinks Americans have a big head and are imperialists, an individual person can be viewed for their own merits. In fact, Americans making contact with other people now is very important.
I would not go to Iran now, or any country where we have been supporting armed conflict against them.
This is good to hear. There are many young people I know who might welcome this news. I will certainly share it. It is unfortunate, though, that many I come in contact with cannot financially afford to pick up and relocate.
I am interested in why it is easier for students or retirees. Could you elaborate, or point me in a direction to find more information about this? Thanks Linda.
In short, if you need to work then you have to find a job. It is not so easy to find jobs abroad without moving there and looking. I have a friend in the US who has been trying to find a job in Germany for years. She cannot get one. She is hampered by not having her work papers yet, and not living here. Most jobs are not going to want to hire someone where they might need to provide relocation costs, over someone who is already there, living and established. As long as there are enough people who want to do the job one can be hired. Since I have been here, and I am retired, I have friends who have asked me to work in their schools. They want me to teach English. One friend wants me to train her staff on multicultural education because they have a lot of immigrant students. There is no way anyone would have any interest if I were in the US, yet they really need teachers here.
A student might get a student job, but they are allowed to come and live and get a visa without having a source of income, although they might need to have money, or in the case of Germany and some other countries, they can apply for financial aid.
A retiree presumably has a source of income, even if it is just social security. I am going to write about retiring abroad in the near future. If you have social security and a pension then you are easily able to live in most countries that are not more expensive than the US, which is most. The US just slide down from place 13 to place 17 in terms of cost of living. That means that all of the other countries except for the first 16 are more affordable.
I was asked to write about being a retiree and I will do a piece on that later. I am working on a piece about students going abroad. I did write a piece in November about why I ended up moving abroad which talks some about the details of living abroad in retirement.
Not easier for retirees in many places. Civilized countries that have universal healthcare do not want refugees from our abominable health "system" to come there and avail themselves of free health care that they never paid into. Others require that you bring a certain amount of money with you--I've seen one or two million required.
Linda, I am living in such a place and I can tell my story. I got into the health insurance system. Some countries do not let you, but Germany does. You have to pay in when you come in. It is of course, an important piece to look into. A lot of Americans retire in Mexico.
Also, many countries do not require that much money, particularly if you have a pension. I am going to write about retiring abroad after I finish the piece I am currently working on since someone else asked me to. I am a citizen so my situation is somewhat different but not totally.
Most appreciated--thank you! My son, a bona fide U.S. citizen born in the U.S to 2 bona fide people also born in the U.S., married a woman who is a Japanese citizen and never applied for citizenship during the years they lived here. They have 3 children, only one of which was born in the U.S. The other 2 were born in Japan where they now have lived for 7 years. I am now very concerned about having them come back for our annual Christmas visit--the only time I see them or my son. I sought and obtained dual citizenship with Ireland a few years ago during the reign of #45. Ace in the hole.
Linda, wise thing to get your Irish citizenship. We really need to build in options for ourselves. I understand your concern. My family living in the US who are Permanent residents, are afraid to leave because they may not be allowed back in. As with the Jews in Germany, if you are stripped of citizenship, will you also be stripped of your property? What about your social security?
I don't remember that America. I was b. 1951, came of political age around 1968. Being white and born into the upper-middle class, I was never at much risk, but I soon met many people who were: people of color, activists of any color, etc. I learned about the anti-"radical" persecutions that followed World War I, and how J. Edgar Hoover and what came to be called the FBI came to such power. I already knew about Jim Crow, having watched anti-civil-rights violence on TV, and about lynching, but I hadn't known about the white mob violence directed against Black people in places like Tulsa. As a young college student and antiwar activist, I met many, many victims of McCarthyism (which pre-dated Joe McCarthy). I learned about how Japanese Americans were interned during World War II and how at least one ship carrying Jewish refugees from Hitler's Europe was turned away from U.S. shores.
Needless to say, I've watched firsthand as Reaganomics gutted the middle and working classes, and post-9/11 hysteria gave us the Patriot Act, the war against Iraq, and other gifts that keep on giving. Short version: Trump II came as a shock, but it wasn't exactly a surprise.
Yes Susanna. Trump two keeps on shocking but it is because who he is is so awful, not because we don't believe this is who he is. We just keep hoping that it is not. Our book club book is "Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism" by George Monbion and Peter Hutchinson. They are really discussing how this is what we are living with since Reagan took office and how that goes hand in hand with fascism.
There’s still a number of places for ex-pats, as long as their $ holds up, and Social Security checks continue to be issued Celeste. Many Americans fear leaving the safe confines of their homeland, hmm…the world is vast and beautiful, as are most of the denizens I’ve met in my travels, we bipeds can’t live in fear, it’s exactly what this abhorrent administration wants, Sla’inte!!
No fear, here. Just shopping for a future. I hope to stay here to help right the ship, but if I start treading water, well, there you go.
I've been to Central America, PR and Barbados, but that's it. They are beautiful places. I'm sure there is vast beauty elsewhere. The people, though. were what made those places so beautiful.
What language was Sla'intel? And translation, please?
Sla’inte is Gaelic/Irish… often used in toasts, its translation is “health”… wishing good health, a family tradition I’ve always enjoyed! Sla’inte to friends and family is something I’ve said for years. Many of us use cheers for hello’s and goodbyes, they’re a bit more complicated in Irish, but I love using them equally Celeste,,.feel free to pass it along!!
Linda - this is the most detailed and terrifying description of the state of play of the regime’s’ goals for our failing republic. Think of the child, born in the US of non-US citizens. Illegal, as a fetus; stateless at birth.
Jean, I do think of this. A friend yesterday was pointing out that if you are stateless it is hard to get a job, shelter, married, a drivers license, etc...
I am finding everything Trump has to do with arresting people, putting them in concentration camps, some of which are death camps, and deporting people, and stripping them of their rights to be terrifying too. I am not in disbelief about it although I would like to be. He is telling us who he is and he is what he wants to do.
Prof, Ruth Ben-Ghiat has been saying that whenever Trump starts to talk about doing things that he is preparing us for him to arrest and control people and he wants us. She has been pointing out that he is gradually preparing us for a much more highly controlled state. To accept the role of ICE intervening, and then the military.
I wrote about the loss of citizenship because this is full on authoritarian in a different way from the horrid budget bill. Trump slips so much harmful stuff in it is hard to catch it all. So, knowing about it makes one process it and make a plan.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat's mother has been stricken from the Social Security rolls. She has to appear in person at a SS office in the US (which is probably closed). Her mother lives overseas, has Alzheimers, and cannot travel.
This is going to happen more and more to anyone seen as an enemy of the regime.
Yes Jean. It is awful. My husband and I are planning on living abroad for our retirement and while I am in a statutory health and long term care plan, which I will add my husband to when he is here, we do not know if we can get our US social security that we have also paid into all of. our lives. We do not know if we have to show up to the US regularly to get our social security, but we do know that with my husband having a Green card, if he does not regularly come back to the US he will lose it and then would need to apply for a visa to come to any social security appointment, which could end him in ICE lock up. The US is starting to behave like Russia on a small scale, but with this new huge infusion of money it can ramp it up to a larger scale. We shall see how quickly that happens.
Assuming they haven't fired everyone yet in the SS administration, you should be able to still apply online. I don't know if using a non-US address would change anything. I don't know how close you are to claiming benefits - but at this point, youo might consider claiming sooner rather than later (although not while you are still working - that has all sorts of semi-complicated tax implications). You should apply several months before you want benefits to start -- they will ask you when you want to start receiving benefits. This is an unholy mess; I hope you both are able to receive all to which you are entitled.
You are asking the best, most pertinent of questions here, Linda.
And you are invoking the most true, most beggarly, most frightening facts of history, including the perverse and viciously threatening one we now inhabit.
PhiI, I have been reading about Trump threatening to strip Mamdani of his US citizenship and deport him. It is the most alarming thing, because if this happens then we are full on police state, something that some substackers like Zev Shalev and Olga Lautman are saying.
I am still trying to wrap my head around Trump out and out helping Russia to defeat Ukraine by getting rid of sanctions quietly from Russian banks, and not providing Ukraine with any weapons or any support anymore. Is any of this the will of the people? There is no will for peace here except on Russia's terms of the extinction of Ukraine as a sovereign nation with sovereign people.
I wish there was a push to get former American military to go and fight in Ukraine. Putin will destroy the country like he has in the past with other nations.
Not being able to read through anything today, our family waiting to hear when the decision is made to take cousin Denise , 46 off life support , 3 days ago out with family at a restaurant passed out. Never regained consciousness. Brain Dead, is the diagnosis.
Seems though the whole world waited yesterday..Brain Dead ..fitting two words.
This essay is especially timely for me, since my spouse, a naturalized citizen, and I are trying to decide if it is safe to travel to Spain at the end of the summer. Our concern stems from the harrowing stories we have heard about US Customs and Border Protection detaining people at airports for no valid reason at all. We've been advised to keep the phone number of a lawyer in our pockets when passing through US Customs! Still, I am concerned about "flaunting" my spouse's naturalized citizenship at Customs.
We have explored permanent residency and citizenship in Spain and are willing to act if the "situation" in the US becomes completely untenable. I never thought I would write those words.
Rosemary, I will be traveling back to the US this summer as well for my second time. I have a lot of things to take care of there, but then I might stay away longer. My mom is there so we shall see.
My friend is here in Germany right now with her family. Her daughter is just transferring to university here because she does not feel safe living in the US. Her son has one more year of high school and they are planning on leaving after that. Her husband just flew from Germany where he is spending the summer for a 1 day meeting that was for people who want a specific science grant that he has been getting. Now they required everyone who applied to meet in person, a huge drain on the time, environment and everyone, but that is the new way. There is no guarantee he will get this grant. He is German and a naturalized US citizen. I think this summer things are not so organized although if Trump gets his budget by the 4th he will be able to start funding ICE again, since Noem has blown through all of their budget already.
He made it back to Germany fine. However, my husband who is in the US on a green card, did not want to risk going back and forth, so he is staying in the US until we move in the fall.
I wrote "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe" in November and I think it is more relevant than it was for food for thought about leaving.
Ever since I read the book, "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" by Judith Kerr, which is a fictionalized version of her story getting out of Germany right when Hitler came to power. That was because their father paid attention to what was going on, and he did not trust the situation. The thing is, one can move away and always come back later if things change. Or not. Also, I know the chair of Democrats Abroad Spain, Andrew Anderson, because he has come to our book club, and we are on a chat group together. Here is a link. It can be such a support if you move to find like minded expats.
Danke sehr, Linda, for the link to Spain's Democrats Abroad and for the name of your contact in this group. If my spouse and I end up moving to Spain, we will surely join Democrats Abroad.
As you said, one can move away and return to the US later, but I think any move we make will be permanent, even if this authoritarian backsliding is halted, since it will take decades to fix all that ails the United States, and some problems, such as anti-intellectualism and religious fanaticism, are so entrenched, I don't envision them disappearing readily. Besides, in so many respects, the quality of life in Europe is so much higher than here in the US.
How wonderful that your friend's children are pursuing higher education in Germany. I have encouraged all the college-bound high school students I know to widen the lens and consider applying to Canadian and European universities (and then pursuing careers abroad). Many years ago, I took a summer German language course for foreigners at LMU Munchen, and the instruction was top-notch, so I imagine that the regular teaching must be fantastic.
I will take a look at your "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe," since it does appear that we are headed for a catastrophe.
I agree about the standard of living in many countries being higher than in the USA by several measures. Now we can add to that, not sinking into being a police state.
Last night I was celebrating the Fourth on coincidentally was my city's monthly Democrats Abroad dinner, and I met some new people. More and more are joining our group because they want the camaraderie of people who are like thinking politically about the USA. I met a man who has been in Germany since 1995, and a woman who has been in Germany since 1971. She and another woman and I exchanged numbers because we decided we all want to go to coffee together. It is as easy as that.
Thanks for this excellent essay, Linda. You raise important questions and make important observations that I'm not seeing elsewhere. The issue of having renounced citizenship in order to become a US citizen and then potentially being left stateless is a very alarming possibility. In less than six months it has moved from improbable to genuinely conceivable.
I suppose it is also a marker in general about how quickly governments can change, and immigration/naturalisation policies with it. Residential visas are essentially guest permits, are almost always finite, and renewal is never truly guaranteed. The U.S. has had and continues to have remarkable influence. How can one say that the trajectory it is following will not be imitated by countries here in Europe as well?
John, I have been considering the loss of my EU citizenship as well. Germany with its new more conservative coalition government, discussed not allowing dual citizenship, when I have had it all my life this really alarmed me just as much as the Americans who are newly applying for German citizenship now that one is allowed both. What Chancellor Merz did by even discussing these hostile things is ensure that Germany will continue to have a difficult time getting enough people to come here and live and work.
Still, we have really been discussing what it would mean to be stateless, and a friend was pointing out that one also cannot get married, a birth certificate for your children, etc... We were discussing where one could live.
Another thing that was discussed is that if Trump removes our citizenship will he take our property too as the Nazis did to the German Jews whose citizenship they stripped from them? It is already a problem to get social security if you live abroad as I am hearing that under Trump people have to show up in person for some unnecessary bureaucratic reason that allows them to steal our money from us.
Ultimately this is a form of stripping us of voting rights, which may be the real reason Trump is doing this. We need to remain flexible even as we have settled in our homes abroad. We need to remain alert and vigilant as well.
What a difference an election makes, and we're only five months into the new regime. There are so many hidden issues around this concept of de-naturalisation. Think of a situation where someone with citizenship in an EU country lives in a second EU country, but then loses citizenship ... suddenly they're either in stateless limbo or are placed in a situation where they need to apply for a visa (and some countries require visa applications to be filed via a consulate or embassy their "home" country). Jayzus ...
Yes. In the meantime, the US is shutting half of the consulates in Germany, and which will at least have some but requires an overnight trip for many people to go who are not in Munich, Berlin or Frankfurt. At least we still will have some consulates and an embassy. That is not true of many countries.
We’re well into Yarvins Butterfly Revolution, and, or Voights Project 2025. With a 79 year old drug addled, fully demented and vengeful child in the Oval.
I have to believe most cogent people have come to the conclusion that Trump does nothing but golf and appear in photo-ops. Knowing full well, his thought process is long gone, much like Reagan!
What I can’t understand is why the 25th amendment hasn’t even been whispered about???
The way Steven Miller has played SCOTUS, all of Trumps children should be deported, coupled with his current wife, in accordance with the insane laws we find ourselves under.
This country is definitely in the throes of a strongman, one that Ruth warned us about long ago.
Exceptionally crafted piece Linda!!! The crisis of cruelty in this country deserves more attention, Sla’inte!!
There are exisitng laws that criminal CONVICTION of a person who is a naturalized citizen can LOSE their citizenship and face deportation. THAT is nothing new. I would also suspect that if a naturalized citizen returns to the country of their birth for any length of time they can losee their US citizenship especially if they work in any part of their home country's government entities including schools and hospitals. There might be carve outs but those are usually only for diplomatic missions not governments of the country or US companies in their home country. A person returning to their home country is always politically suspicious as well. ONE area you did not mention is paying taxes on your income earned abroad. I worked and lived outside the US in a past life and paid taxes here in the USA as well as those in that country working for a US company there. But many people move outside the USA to avoid such taxes I am told. If you do not pay income taxes to benefit the government and people of the USA, why should you be entitled to a certainty of citizenship and the ability to vote in the state in which you maintain registration to vote? And do not get me started on dual nationality because there was a law that said if you served in the miliitary of another country you LOST totally your US citizenship; yet young men and women in Israel seem to be able to do so. I totally support the idea that people in diplomatic missions and international organizations such as the UN, WHO, PAHO etc do not lose their US citizenship but those who want to work outside the USA for any tax related savings should or could lose their citizenship even by birth if they serve in the millitary or in the government of that country and to avoid taxes in the USA.
Carol, I don't know what you did, but everyone I know living abroad files taxes in both the US and the country they live in, in fact John Howard wrote an excellent piece today explaining how taxes work if you live abroad.
One advantage a US citizen has is that they can stay away as long as they want. It is people with permanent residency who cannot. Any US citizen can live abroad and then come home at any time. Since US citizens tend to have family still in the US when they move abroad this is a good thing.
I believe the law is that if you have to serve military duty in your other country then you must do that. You are expected not to shirk it. This is why most countries that allow dual citizenship have some countries where they do not allow it. Perhaps they think they might be at war with that other country some day.
I also hear about super wealthy people hiding their money in any number of ways outside of the US, but the average person does not know how to do that, nor do they do it.
It sounds like you are for stripping people of their US citizenship, so that would go for not just naturalized but any. I do not agree. It is a right, and we pay taxes and should be able to vote. I paid into US social security my whole life, but once I am done working I should be able to live and spend my money whereever, and that includes returning to the US.
No I am not for stripping US citizenship if one continues to pay taxes. Thanks for the article about same. BUT I pointed out that there are existng laws for stripping naturalized citizenship from people who commit crimes. Trump is acting as if said laws do not exist. And my fear exists for their being ACCUSED of crimes and not being given rights to due process. I do think that we need to remove people who overstay their visas in the USA, for any reason other than a health emergency. As an IT professional I have seen US citizens lose jobs to the H1B population that comes here and he is NOT addressing that concern. Our laws should not allow him to carve out exceptions for them and not protect US citizens jobs here. Why a person from India taking a US job is more valuable than a person from Central America harvesting our food, bullding our homes, caring for our elderly and children is beyond my ken.
Carol I agree with you on skewed priorities of workers for IT over food. You can see who is setting the priority agenda. I have in my life known so many people who overstayed their visas, and if they have been from Europe it seems to not have a big problem, if they were a student. There is clearly a double standard of enforcement. I do know about the fact that there are these laws to strip people, and they have been abused by zealous politics.
I am reading "Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism" by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchinson in my political book club, and it really explains why all of these decisions are made very well. One just has to understand how neoliberalism works. I did not. I do now. I highly recommend it. We are not done with it, but will be in another week.
Hey, Linda. Great article. I am definitely sharing this all over the place.
Thanks Angela! ✌🏽
thank you Linda. it's heartbreaking.
Yes it is Eudoxia.
I fear there are too many countries who do not want Americans to come there. We are not held in high esteem as we once were. America was a country who welcomed those 'regular' people as well as those who were looking for asylum from oppression and danger. For an American citizen, there are no safe harbors unless they have something of significance to offer, or enough money. Many many lives will be twisted and destroyed as a result of the current situation. Oppression has come to our shores.
Celeste, I hope that is not true. It is not true in Germany. Most people around where I live seems to understand that all Americans are not Trump. A big concern is that they are shutting Embassies down. I have not been hearing of a change from Americans Abroad. Europe has an aging population that is not being replaced in full. Most countries here need people to come and work. I realize that is in particularly professions. If one is a student or retired it becomes easier.
I think Americans can be viewed as individuals. So, even if someone thinks Americans have a big head and are imperialists, an individual person can be viewed for their own merits. In fact, Americans making contact with other people now is very important.
I would not go to Iran now, or any country where we have been supporting armed conflict against them.
This is good to hear. There are many young people I know who might welcome this news. I will certainly share it. It is unfortunate, though, that many I come in contact with cannot financially afford to pick up and relocate.
I am interested in why it is easier for students or retirees. Could you elaborate, or point me in a direction to find more information about this? Thanks Linda.
In short, if you need to work then you have to find a job. It is not so easy to find jobs abroad without moving there and looking. I have a friend in the US who has been trying to find a job in Germany for years. She cannot get one. She is hampered by not having her work papers yet, and not living here. Most jobs are not going to want to hire someone where they might need to provide relocation costs, over someone who is already there, living and established. As long as there are enough people who want to do the job one can be hired. Since I have been here, and I am retired, I have friends who have asked me to work in their schools. They want me to teach English. One friend wants me to train her staff on multicultural education because they have a lot of immigrant students. There is no way anyone would have any interest if I were in the US, yet they really need teachers here.
A student might get a student job, but they are allowed to come and live and get a visa without having a source of income, although they might need to have money, or in the case of Germany and some other countries, they can apply for financial aid.
A retiree presumably has a source of income, even if it is just social security. I am going to write about retiring abroad in the near future. If you have social security and a pension then you are easily able to live in most countries that are not more expensive than the US, which is most. The US just slide down from place 13 to place 17 in terms of cost of living. That means that all of the other countries except for the first 16 are more affordable.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp
I was asked to write about being a retiree and I will do a piece on that later. I am working on a piece about students going abroad. I did write a piece in November about why I ended up moving abroad which talks some about the details of living abroad in retirement.
I would really like to read your why you ended up movign abroad...can yo please post a link to that piece?
Not easier for retirees in many places. Civilized countries that have universal healthcare do not want refugees from our abominable health "system" to come there and avail themselves of free health care that they never paid into. Others require that you bring a certain amount of money with you--I've seen one or two million required.
Linda, I am living in such a place and I can tell my story. I got into the health insurance system. Some countries do not let you, but Germany does. You have to pay in when you come in. It is of course, an important piece to look into. A lot of Americans retire in Mexico.
Also, many countries do not require that much money, particularly if you have a pension. I am going to write about retiring abroad after I finish the piece I am currently working on since someone else asked me to. I am a citizen so my situation is somewhat different but not totally.
Most appreciated--thank you! My son, a bona fide U.S. citizen born in the U.S to 2 bona fide people also born in the U.S., married a woman who is a Japanese citizen and never applied for citizenship during the years they lived here. They have 3 children, only one of which was born in the U.S. The other 2 were born in Japan where they now have lived for 7 years. I am now very concerned about having them come back for our annual Christmas visit--the only time I see them or my son. I sought and obtained dual citizenship with Ireland a few years ago during the reign of #45. Ace in the hole.
Linda, wise thing to get your Irish citizenship. We really need to build in options for ourselves. I understand your concern. My family living in the US who are Permanent residents, are afraid to leave because they may not be allowed back in. As with the Jews in Germany, if you are stripped of citizenship, will you also be stripped of your property? What about your social security?
I don't remember that America. I was b. 1951, came of political age around 1968. Being white and born into the upper-middle class, I was never at much risk, but I soon met many people who were: people of color, activists of any color, etc. I learned about the anti-"radical" persecutions that followed World War I, and how J. Edgar Hoover and what came to be called the FBI came to such power. I already knew about Jim Crow, having watched anti-civil-rights violence on TV, and about lynching, but I hadn't known about the white mob violence directed against Black people in places like Tulsa. As a young college student and antiwar activist, I met many, many victims of McCarthyism (which pre-dated Joe McCarthy). I learned about how Japanese Americans were interned during World War II and how at least one ship carrying Jewish refugees from Hitler's Europe was turned away from U.S. shores.
Needless to say, I've watched firsthand as Reaganomics gutted the middle and working classes, and post-9/11 hysteria gave us the Patriot Act, the war against Iraq, and other gifts that keep on giving. Short version: Trump II came as a shock, but it wasn't exactly a surprise.
Yes Susanna. Trump two keeps on shocking but it is because who he is is so awful, not because we don't believe this is who he is. We just keep hoping that it is not. Our book club book is "Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism" by George Monbion and Peter Hutchinson. They are really discussing how this is what we are living with since Reagan took office and how that goes hand in hand with fascism.
There’s still a number of places for ex-pats, as long as their $ holds up, and Social Security checks continue to be issued Celeste. Many Americans fear leaving the safe confines of their homeland, hmm…the world is vast and beautiful, as are most of the denizens I’ve met in my travels, we bipeds can’t live in fear, it’s exactly what this abhorrent administration wants, Sla’inte!!
No fear, here. Just shopping for a future. I hope to stay here to help right the ship, but if I start treading water, well, there you go.
I've been to Central America, PR and Barbados, but that's it. They are beautiful places. I'm sure there is vast beauty elsewhere. The people, though. were what made those places so beautiful.
What language was Sla'intel? And translation, please?
Sla'inte is Irish Gaelic language and I believe it means "health" like in a toast to your health. Cheers!
There are many beautiful places in the world is true.
Sla’inte is Gaelic/Irish… often used in toasts, its translation is “health”… wishing good health, a family tradition I’ve always enjoyed! Sla’inte to friends and family is something I’ve said for years. Many of us use cheers for hello’s and goodbyes, they’re a bit more complicated in Irish, but I love using them equally Celeste,,.feel free to pass it along!!
how lovely!
Linda - this is the most detailed and terrifying description of the state of play of the regime’s’ goals for our failing republic. Think of the child, born in the US of non-US citizens. Illegal, as a fetus; stateless at birth.
Jean, I do think of this. A friend yesterday was pointing out that if you are stateless it is hard to get a job, shelter, married, a drivers license, etc...
I am finding everything Trump has to do with arresting people, putting them in concentration camps, some of which are death camps, and deporting people, and stripping them of their rights to be terrifying too. I am not in disbelief about it although I would like to be. He is telling us who he is and he is what he wants to do.
Prof, Ruth Ben-Ghiat has been saying that whenever Trump starts to talk about doing things that he is preparing us for him to arrest and control people and he wants us. She has been pointing out that he is gradually preparing us for a much more highly controlled state. To accept the role of ICE intervening, and then the military.
I wrote about the loss of citizenship because this is full on authoritarian in a different way from the horrid budget bill. Trump slips so much harmful stuff in it is hard to catch it all. So, knowing about it makes one process it and make a plan.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat's mother has been stricken from the Social Security rolls. She has to appear in person at a SS office in the US (which is probably closed). Her mother lives overseas, has Alzheimers, and cannot travel.
This is going to happen more and more to anyone seen as an enemy of the regime.
Yes Jean. It is awful. My husband and I are planning on living abroad for our retirement and while I am in a statutory health and long term care plan, which I will add my husband to when he is here, we do not know if we can get our US social security that we have also paid into all of. our lives. We do not know if we have to show up to the US regularly to get our social security, but we do know that with my husband having a Green card, if he does not regularly come back to the US he will lose it and then would need to apply for a visa to come to any social security appointment, which could end him in ICE lock up. The US is starting to behave like Russia on a small scale, but with this new huge infusion of money it can ramp it up to a larger scale. We shall see how quickly that happens.
Assuming they haven't fired everyone yet in the SS administration, you should be able to still apply online. I don't know if using a non-US address would change anything. I don't know how close you are to claiming benefits - but at this point, youo might consider claiming sooner rather than later (although not while you are still working - that has all sorts of semi-complicated tax implications). You should apply several months before you want benefits to start -- they will ask you when you want to start receiving benefits. This is an unholy mess; I hope you both are able to receive all to which you are entitled.
We will have a US address for a while. It is frightening.
You are asking the best, most pertinent of questions here, Linda.
And you are invoking the most true, most beggarly, most frightening facts of history, including the perverse and viciously threatening one we now inhabit.
PhiI, I have been reading about Trump threatening to strip Mamdani of his US citizenship and deport him. It is the most alarming thing, because if this happens then we are full on police state, something that some substackers like Zev Shalev and Olga Lautman are saying.
I am still trying to wrap my head around Trump out and out helping Russia to defeat Ukraine by getting rid of sanctions quietly from Russian banks, and not providing Ukraine with any weapons or any support anymore. Is any of this the will of the people? There is no will for peace here except on Russia's terms of the extinction of Ukraine as a sovereign nation with sovereign people.
The damages from this oaf, so awful, continuous, Linda.
I hope Europeans can unite for democracy in ways Americans in the U.S. clearly cannot.
Phil I do too. Anyone that can unite for democracy is needed to keep it alive right now.
I wish there was a push to get former American military to go and fight in Ukraine. Putin will destroy the country like he has in the past with other nations.
Bill, there are former US military fighting in Ukraine as well as mercenaries from other countries as well. Here is a link to signing up.
https://www.ildu.com.ua/
Not being able to read through anything today, our family waiting to hear when the decision is made to take cousin Denise , 46 off life support , 3 days ago out with family at a restaurant passed out. Never regained consciousness. Brain Dead, is the diagnosis.
Seems though the whole world waited yesterday..Brain Dead ..fitting two words.
Love to you all 🫶😔
Love to you too Patricia. I am so sorry for you and your family. She is so young. I hope you can draw comfort from being together.
This essay is especially timely for me, since my spouse, a naturalized citizen, and I are trying to decide if it is safe to travel to Spain at the end of the summer. Our concern stems from the harrowing stories we have heard about US Customs and Border Protection detaining people at airports for no valid reason at all. We've been advised to keep the phone number of a lawyer in our pockets when passing through US Customs! Still, I am concerned about "flaunting" my spouse's naturalized citizenship at Customs.
We have explored permanent residency and citizenship in Spain and are willing to act if the "situation" in the US becomes completely untenable. I never thought I would write those words.
Rosemary, I will be traveling back to the US this summer as well for my second time. I have a lot of things to take care of there, but then I might stay away longer. My mom is there so we shall see.
My friend is here in Germany right now with her family. Her daughter is just transferring to university here because she does not feel safe living in the US. Her son has one more year of high school and they are planning on leaving after that. Her husband just flew from Germany where he is spending the summer for a 1 day meeting that was for people who want a specific science grant that he has been getting. Now they required everyone who applied to meet in person, a huge drain on the time, environment and everyone, but that is the new way. There is no guarantee he will get this grant. He is German and a naturalized US citizen. I think this summer things are not so organized although if Trump gets his budget by the 4th he will be able to start funding ICE again, since Noem has blown through all of their budget already.
He made it back to Germany fine. However, my husband who is in the US on a green card, did not want to risk going back and forth, so he is staying in the US until we move in the fall.
I wrote "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe" in November and I think it is more relevant than it was for food for thought about leaving.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/a-plan-b-for-catastrophe?r=f0qfn
Ever since I read the book, "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" by Judith Kerr, which is a fictionalized version of her story getting out of Germany right when Hitler came to power. That was because their father paid attention to what was going on, and he did not trust the situation. The thing is, one can move away and always come back later if things change. Or not. Also, I know the chair of Democrats Abroad Spain, Andrew Anderson, because he has come to our book club, and we are on a chat group together. Here is a link. It can be such a support if you move to find like minded expats.
https://www.democratsabroad.org/es
Danke sehr, Linda, for the link to Spain's Democrats Abroad and for the name of your contact in this group. If my spouse and I end up moving to Spain, we will surely join Democrats Abroad.
As you said, one can move away and return to the US later, but I think any move we make will be permanent, even if this authoritarian backsliding is halted, since it will take decades to fix all that ails the United States, and some problems, such as anti-intellectualism and religious fanaticism, are so entrenched, I don't envision them disappearing readily. Besides, in so many respects, the quality of life in Europe is so much higher than here in the US.
How wonderful that your friend's children are pursuing higher education in Germany. I have encouraged all the college-bound high school students I know to widen the lens and consider applying to Canadian and European universities (and then pursuing careers abroad). Many years ago, I took a summer German language course for foreigners at LMU Munchen, and the instruction was top-notch, so I imagine that the regular teaching must be fantastic.
I will take a look at your "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe," since it does appear that we are headed for a catastrophe.
Rosemary if you decide to move you will find a world of Expats to whom you can reach out. I also have this article for Students that you can share.
This is my most recent version.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/american-youth-can-be-ambassadors?r=f0qfn
I agree about the standard of living in many countries being higher than in the USA by several measures. Now we can add to that, not sinking into being a police state.
Last night I was celebrating the Fourth on coincidentally was my city's monthly Democrats Abroad dinner, and I met some new people. More and more are joining our group because they want the camaraderie of people who are like thinking politically about the USA. I met a man who has been in Germany since 1995, and a woman who has been in Germany since 1971. She and another woman and I exchanged numbers because we decided we all want to go to coffee together. It is as easy as that.
Linda, this is very disturbing! And I guess I'm going to share it, too.
(My parents both taught at Tufts for the majority of their careers. They met as grad students at Harvard.)
Thanks for this excellent essay, Linda. You raise important questions and make important observations that I'm not seeing elsewhere. The issue of having renounced citizenship in order to become a US citizen and then potentially being left stateless is a very alarming possibility. In less than six months it has moved from improbable to genuinely conceivable.
I suppose it is also a marker in general about how quickly governments can change, and immigration/naturalisation policies with it. Residential visas are essentially guest permits, are almost always finite, and renewal is never truly guaranteed. The U.S. has had and continues to have remarkable influence. How can one say that the trajectory it is following will not be imitated by countries here in Europe as well?
John, I have been considering the loss of my EU citizenship as well. Germany with its new more conservative coalition government, discussed not allowing dual citizenship, when I have had it all my life this really alarmed me just as much as the Americans who are newly applying for German citizenship now that one is allowed both. What Chancellor Merz did by even discussing these hostile things is ensure that Germany will continue to have a difficult time getting enough people to come here and live and work.
Still, we have really been discussing what it would mean to be stateless, and a friend was pointing out that one also cannot get married, a birth certificate for your children, etc... We were discussing where one could live.
Another thing that was discussed is that if Trump removes our citizenship will he take our property too as the Nazis did to the German Jews whose citizenship they stripped from them? It is already a problem to get social security if you live abroad as I am hearing that under Trump people have to show up in person for some unnecessary bureaucratic reason that allows them to steal our money from us.
Ultimately this is a form of stripping us of voting rights, which may be the real reason Trump is doing this. We need to remain flexible even as we have settled in our homes abroad. We need to remain alert and vigilant as well.
In Solidarity! ✌🏽
What a difference an election makes, and we're only five months into the new regime. There are so many hidden issues around this concept of de-naturalisation. Think of a situation where someone with citizenship in an EU country lives in a second EU country, but then loses citizenship ... suddenly they're either in stateless limbo or are placed in a situation where they need to apply for a visa (and some countries require visa applications to be filed via a consulate or embassy their "home" country). Jayzus ...
Yes. In the meantime, the US is shutting half of the consulates in Germany, and which will at least have some but requires an overnight trip for many people to go who are not in Munich, Berlin or Frankfurt. At least we still will have some consulates and an embassy. That is not true of many countries.
We’re well into Yarvins Butterfly Revolution, and, or Voights Project 2025. With a 79 year old drug addled, fully demented and vengeful child in the Oval.
I have to believe most cogent people have come to the conclusion that Trump does nothing but golf and appear in photo-ops. Knowing full well, his thought process is long gone, much like Reagan!
What I can’t understand is why the 25th amendment hasn’t even been whispered about???
The way Steven Miller has played SCOTUS, all of Trumps children should be deported, coupled with his current wife, in accordance with the insane laws we find ourselves under.
This country is definitely in the throes of a strongman, one that Ruth warned us about long ago.
Exceptionally crafted piece Linda!!! The crisis of cruelty in this country deserves more attention, Sla’inte!!
Under present circumstances, who do you think is in a position to exercise the 25th Amendment? Plus, consider who the successor(s) would be....
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxv
There are exisitng laws that criminal CONVICTION of a person who is a naturalized citizen can LOSE their citizenship and face deportation. THAT is nothing new. I would also suspect that if a naturalized citizen returns to the country of their birth for any length of time they can losee their US citizenship especially if they work in any part of their home country's government entities including schools and hospitals. There might be carve outs but those are usually only for diplomatic missions not governments of the country or US companies in their home country. A person returning to their home country is always politically suspicious as well. ONE area you did not mention is paying taxes on your income earned abroad. I worked and lived outside the US in a past life and paid taxes here in the USA as well as those in that country working for a US company there. But many people move outside the USA to avoid such taxes I am told. If you do not pay income taxes to benefit the government and people of the USA, why should you be entitled to a certainty of citizenship and the ability to vote in the state in which you maintain registration to vote? And do not get me started on dual nationality because there was a law that said if you served in the miliitary of another country you LOST totally your US citizenship; yet young men and women in Israel seem to be able to do so. I totally support the idea that people in diplomatic missions and international organizations such as the UN, WHO, PAHO etc do not lose their US citizenship but those who want to work outside the USA for any tax related savings should or could lose their citizenship even by birth if they serve in the millitary or in the government of that country and to avoid taxes in the USA.
Carol, I don't know what you did, but everyone I know living abroad files taxes in both the US and the country they live in, in fact John Howard wrote an excellent piece today explaining how taxes work if you live abroad.
https://open.substack.com/pub/leavingamerica/p/mind-the-tax-authorities-and-treaties?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
One advantage a US citizen has is that they can stay away as long as they want. It is people with permanent residency who cannot. Any US citizen can live abroad and then come home at any time. Since US citizens tend to have family still in the US when they move abroad this is a good thing.
I believe the law is that if you have to serve military duty in your other country then you must do that. You are expected not to shirk it. This is why most countries that allow dual citizenship have some countries where they do not allow it. Perhaps they think they might be at war with that other country some day.
I also hear about super wealthy people hiding their money in any number of ways outside of the US, but the average person does not know how to do that, nor do they do it.
It sounds like you are for stripping people of their US citizenship, so that would go for not just naturalized but any. I do not agree. It is a right, and we pay taxes and should be able to vote. I paid into US social security my whole life, but once I am done working I should be able to live and spend my money whereever, and that includes returning to the US.
No I am not for stripping US citizenship if one continues to pay taxes. Thanks for the article about same. BUT I pointed out that there are existng laws for stripping naturalized citizenship from people who commit crimes. Trump is acting as if said laws do not exist. And my fear exists for their being ACCUSED of crimes and not being given rights to due process. I do think that we need to remove people who overstay their visas in the USA, for any reason other than a health emergency. As an IT professional I have seen US citizens lose jobs to the H1B population that comes here and he is NOT addressing that concern. Our laws should not allow him to carve out exceptions for them and not protect US citizens jobs here. Why a person from India taking a US job is more valuable than a person from Central America harvesting our food, bullding our homes, caring for our elderly and children is beyond my ken.
Carol I agree with you on skewed priorities of workers for IT over food. You can see who is setting the priority agenda. I have in my life known so many people who overstayed their visas, and if they have been from Europe it seems to not have a big problem, if they were a student. There is clearly a double standard of enforcement. I do know about the fact that there are these laws to strip people, and they have been abused by zealous politics.
I am reading "Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism" by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchinson in my political book club, and it really explains why all of these decisions are made very well. One just has to understand how neoliberalism works. I did not. I do now. I highly recommend it. We are not done with it, but will be in another week.