GENTRIFYING BEYOND BORDERS: HOW AMERICANS DISPLACE LOCALS ABROAD
As election news exasperates U.S. voters, online discourse led by TikTok, respected media outlets, and even social media influencers continues to float the idea that Americans can simply leave the country and work remotely. After all, major U.S. cities full of employment opportunities have become far too expensive, and even small towns that double as tourist hotspots are seeing rent increases that dwarf local wages …
Faisal Al-Juburi is the chief external affairs officer at the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), a Texas-based organization that provides legal and social resources for immigrants. As a first-generation Iraqi American whose broader work has celebrated global citizens, Al-Juburi noted that even the language used to describe Americans abroad is worth interrogating.
“We’re talking about immigrants coming to the U.S., but it’s part of American exceptionalism that we’re ‘expats’ when we go abroad,” he said …
Al-Juburi also issued an important reminder: While the U.S. fails to meet its international and legal obligations around asylum, it must be acknowledged that “open borders already exist for the wealthy and the privileged.”
