San Francisco Frontiers - Fleeing Trump: four Americans who chose Mexico

Discrimination, the erosion of civil rights, government cutbacks, polarizing rhetoric and Trump's war on "woke" are among the motivations these new expats give for not wanting to live in the United States.

Mexico is home to around a fifth of the more than five million US citizens living outside of their country, according to a 2023 estimate from the Association of Americans Resident Overseas.

Four Americans told AFP about why they feel more comfortable living in Mexico today.

- 'I think of my parents' -

Oscar Gomez, a 55-year-old business consultant, was already considering leaving the United States, but said Trump's victory was a "tipping point."

Although Trump's anti-immigration comments were not directed at him, "I take them personally because I'm Latino.... I think of my parents," he said.

Gomez also saw his income dwindle after Trump canceled the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs he had contracts with.

So more than 60 years after his parents made the journey north from Mexico in search of a better life, Gomez made the reverse trip from San Francisco with seven suitcases and his dog.

"The irony is that people go to America because they think everything is possible and for me coming to Mexico, that's what I feel," he said.

"I think America is going to survive Trump but it's going to change a lot -- things are going to get harder."

- 'Going backwards' -

After several years living in Mexico City, Tiffany Nicole was considering returning to Chicago to reunite with her family there, but Trump's victory made her rethink her plan.

Now the 45-year-old is "looking for ways to get them out," she said.

Nicole decided to emigrate after the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in 2020.

"As a Black person, you don't feel safe," said Nicole, a tax consultant.

Disillusioned with life back home, she has now decided to stay in Mexico.

"We're actually going backwards in America," Nicole said, pointing to setbacks in civil rights and medicine prices "going through the roof."

"The American dream now is based on a capitalistic view and not on a community view," she said.

- 'Micro aggressions' -

"Being Afro-Latino, being Dominican, being gay means attacks from all parts," said Lee Jimenez, a 38-year-old yoga instructor from New York.

"The US is not the country that it was once. The American dream no longer exists," he said.

Every time he goes back, "I see the US with clear eyes," said Jimenez, whose parents are from the Dominican Republic.

"I see the micro aggressions, how people treat me and how the energy is," he added, accusing Trump of "fabricating stories" and criticizing him for canceling policies and programs for the LGBT community.

- 'More tension' -

Jessica James, aka “J. J.,” said that Trump's presidency had extinguished any desire to live in the United States.

"I don't have any incentive to go back and I feel a big reason is because what's going on in the US," said the 40-year-old, who works for a fishing company.

James was born in San Diego to a Mexican mother, and grew up in Alaska, a conservative Republican state.

"I see a lot of change in the news, in the social media, because there is a lot more tension between people and that is amplified with him (Trump) being president," James said.

Y.Harris--SFF