#emigration and immigration

[labelleizzy]

Reposting from Morgana Alba on Facebook.

It's a reality check for white US Americans that there's WORK involved in emigration or asylum.

One comment on the original post was, "we're not leaving, my husband would never, he's too attached to his family" and the reply "if that's so, you could be the point person looking after /helping manage things for someone else who's got to flee.

Another point: the assumption that folks have $$ wherewithal and physical health enough to do the process as described. I understand that's not true for all of us, but there's a few items in this list that are good for anyone to try and accomplish:

Get a passport

Get all your important documents in a safe, grabbable space

Set up power of attorney for legal matters (your home, your pets if you have to leave them behind, etc)

Research and network for a possible safe landing person or location.

Otherwise, read the list, have a good think about what might apply to your situation, and start doing your research.

....

Morgana Alba:

You need to have a plan - Actually, you need 3.

(TL/DR - get a passport, a foreign one if you qualify, and start with anything in plan B to take actionable steps today to set yourself up for success)

Just in case you should ever need to uproot your life and move out of a country, for any reason, nothing in particular: you should have 3 plans. Not options. Not ideas. Plans. And I realize not everyone as raised like I was so I’m going to tell you how to make them. (And Step 1 is to have a passport. Do that immediately)

First of all, to be a plan it needs a clear objective, identified required steps, and a trigger point. A trigger point is the deciding factor or event that will automatically activate that plan. You must decide what your lines in the sand are in advance. Historic events rarely feel historic when you’re in them and if you don’t decide what you will not accommodate before you’re in it, incrementalism will paralyze you.

For the best coverage, start with plan C and work backwards.

*****

Plan A: Leaving under the best possible circumstances.

This is where a lot of you get stuck. Leaving under the best possible circumstances is a privilege but it’s not the only way out. This takes a lot of time and research and honestly you should have started this plan a year ago if it was what you wanted. To leave via plan A you should:

1. Research what countries you can live in long term and make a living in. This could mean countries you could transfer to with your current employer, countries that are expat friendly, or countries where you qualify for a work visa. If you have living grandparents or aunts that are citizens of and living in a foreign country you may even qualify for a foreign passport. Start that process now.

2. Start learning the language

3. Apply for jobs in that country

4. Find temporary or long term housing

5. Once you have residency and financial support/employment you can sell anything you aren’t moving and leave.

Trigger point for plan A is typically finding employment for most people.

*****

Plan B: Creating the flexibility for short or long term, potentially temporary, absence

This plan is about restructuring your life so that you could leave quickly even if you don’t have the security of Plan A.

1. Determine where you could go, short term. With a U.S. passport you could stay in most countries up to 3 months as a tourist but wouldn’t be allowed to work locally. Call up friends who live abroad and see who would be ok with a long visit if need be.

2. Start selling things you don’t necessarily love. Do a clothing and items purge. If you do have to leave without plan A there may not be the time for storage and sales so start reducing possessions now while you have the time to be mindful.

3. If you own a place, consider getting a roommate or having family move in so that you may not necessarily have to sell if you have to leave. Having someone else to look after the place and the added financial cushion of rent takes a lot of the pressure off during the departure. You’d have someone back home to ship or store your stuff or sell your car if you aren’t returning but you don’t have to make that call at the time.

4. Plan your financial support. Build up savings as you sell things. Look up what jobs will qualify for a digital nomad visa in the countries you’re considering visiting friends in, and very seriously start applying for remote work that fits those restrictions. Open a non-US based bank account to hold your savings. Get a credit card for this and only this. Stick it in the back of your wallet and forget about it.

5. Hoard Medication. Build up a 3-6 month supply of any required daily medications so that you have a cushion to hold you over between leaving and finding new medical care.

6. Digitize all your vital docs, including deeds and medical files. Store them in the cloud and email them to a friend who lives abroad

7. Have a plan for pets. With plan B you may be leaving them behind if you don’t know how long you’ll be gone or where you might settle. Talk to friends and family now about who would be willing to take them in in this situation.

Plan B is about giving you the most flexibility and options. You make big changes now so that you can be prepared to react to changes around you down the road. Trigger Point for plan B is often unique to the individual and involves law changes like access to medical support or the safety of their finances/job/marriage.

*****

Plan C: Run.

This plan is a last resort. It’s easier and less scary than most people think. But you absolutely need to be ready, and you need to know, firmly, what your trigger point is. This plan is for leaving in an emergency, potentially under scrutiny and persecution, with absolutely no plan to return. You should do as much of Plan B as you can, but you can still do plan C without that prep.

1. Have a go-bag. Your go bag is a waterproof, fireproof, personal-item sized piece of luggage that lives pre-packed with your vital documents (passport, medical records, SSN card, birth certificate, marriage certificate, name change docs, any extra photo IDs etc), your medications, around $1000 in non-sequential twenties, your emergency CC, addresses, phone numbers, and info written down for who you could go visit, proof of ownership docs for your house and/or car, and a single change of utilitarian clothing. Keep a pair of sturdy boots next to it if they don’t fit in it.

2. Pack your carry on. In this bag pack your jewelry, photo albums, grandma’s ashes, etc: whatever bits of precious you couldn’t possibly abandon. You need to make those decisions now, not in the moment. This suitcase must meet the SMALLEST restrictions on carryons for international flights (often smaller than what we’re used to in the U.S., typically 22" x 14" x 9") fill any extra space with toiletries or clothing as they reduce suspicion, but don’t prioritize packing clothing or comfort items. You can get that wherever you’re going.

3. These bags live packed in a safe place near the back door of your house; or in your car.

4. Decide where to run to and have a conversation about cover. In this scenario, if your trigger point is a certain executive order, your goal is to get to airport before enforcement goes into place. You need to know where you’re going and “why” your ticket is last minute in advance. Call up whoever is the safe person you’re running to and build the story. “Someone died suddenly” is a good one. This person needs to be ok with you showing up with 0 warning, and automatically going to the cover story if they one-day randomly get a call from a customs agent asking them to confirm why you’re traveling. If you have kids, have go bags for them as well, and only tell them the cover story.

5. Plan for your pet. Once you decide where you will run to look up what you would need to bring your pet and have those things ready to go (carrier, shot record, etc). Also plan for a situation where you have to leave your pet behind. Discuss with friends and family and get a commitment on who would take then in

6. Have a point person that is remaining behind that you trust to handle your affairs. If you have to run with no notice like this, you need someone here to sell your car, ship any possessions you need, cancel your lease, etc. Find your person and have the conversation about that now.

7. If you need to run you grab your go bags and maybe your pet carrier and you get on a plane. Use your normal bank accounts if you can, and your cash and emergency credit card if you can’t. Buy the ticket online if possible. If it has to be in person look for a visible minority ticket agent and if you’re questioned about the last-minute travel lean on the “my mother just died while visiting my aunt in France (or wherever you’re running). I have to go, I’m so distraught, taking my emotional support cat and kid cause idk when I’ll be back, there’s just so much to figure out. My Aunt has dementia. I have to get there before she does something crazy”

8. Try not to worry about what comes next. Humans have cut and run for thousands of years. You can do it. Immediate defense of life comes first. Everything else can be figured out after you’re safe. Don’t let worry over the logistics keep you in a dangerous situation.

Those are three plans you should have. But keep in mind there’s a lot of middle ground. Do as much of B as you can, and if you have to leave without a job, you can figure it out there. The place you run to doesn’t have to be where you’ll settle. You’l have more time to plan after you’re safe.

Americans have this warped idea of immigration. We believe other countries are as insanely draconian about it as we are but that’s not the case. Do your research. Make your plans. And don’t let fear of the unknown or a lack of planning keep you in danger. You can always just pack your bags and get on a plane to a friend’s place or a Sikh temple, and figure the rest of it out when you get there.

But definitely get your passport

[elodieunderglass]

Time for our regular reminder to people from New England that our native dialect’s charming slang for a small liquor store is a racial slur in the rest of the English speaking world.

Yes I know we don’t mean it that way. Yes I know we have no idea. Yes I know that people from Pakistan hardly ever visit New England let alone settle there, and it is 💯 innocently meant in New England.

It is extraordinarily unfair that the racial connotations of keeping a small corner shop means that it unintentionally doubles the impact of the slur.

It’s wicked uncool but there you go and now you know.

[sarielsnowings]

“El sueño de la razón…” 🥀

Here’s the full piece I made for the Claveles Zine, a lovely art project featuring Spanish artists. I decided to explore my complex relationship as an emigrant with my hometown, featuring some of its most beautiful imagery.

I’m so glad I can finally show you all the full piece, but I’m also so nervous. This is, naturally, a very personal piece for many reasons. I do hope you’ll enjoy it.

[whatcha-thinkin]

If you're a resident of one of these, choose another on the honor system. All stats from Wikipedia.

Edit: there's a typo in the question block and I'm going to stand by it.

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer YA About Immigration

Indivisible by Daniel Aleman  Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa  We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia Kween by Vichet Chum The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante Bonus: These are all YA, but for a New Adult Romance, check out The Broposal by Sonora Reyes 

[isaacsapphire]

Looking at the current and projected next five years socioeconomic political situation as they apply to you and your family and economic prospects in the United States, and assuming that staying and emigrating are possible legally and financially (imagine a rich and powerful friend or family member in your destination country will help you get set up in your new area. Language classes and jobs will be offered if necessary)

Please reblog with comments or just for reach!

[morrissforever]

1/22/25 I also wanted to talk about the importance of community work, now more than ever we need to help the immigrant community out. We need to use our resources to spread factual information, combating fear with preparedness.

I used my printer to print and hand cut and fold “immigrant rights” cards. You can easily find them online, I found a pdf and used that to print out around 80. I also printed stickers of Elon saluting, because unfortunately this is the reality we’re in right now.

Please help your community! If you don’t have access to any of this stuff, check out your local library, or spread the knowledge that this stuff exists to your community who might not know about it.

The Zine community, the DYI community, will NEVER stand with the oppressor.

ABOLISH ICE ABOLISH TRUMP ABOLISH THE RICH

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

The situation for transgender people in the United States is unraveling at an alarming pace. [...] The time has come for countries with strong human rights protections to extend refuge to those who can no longer exist safely or openly within U.S. borders.

Many transgender people have told me they are planning or actively working to leave the United States—and some have already done so successfully. Most are using existing immigration pathways, such as job-based visas or close family ties in safer countries. But not every trans person has a high-demand skillset along with a job lined up abroad or a family connection that eases their way through immigration. Still, the writing is on the wall: when conservative leaders openly talk about “eradication” and declare the elimination of all gender-affirming care their “endgame,” the calculation many trans people make is a grim one—that safety may no longer be possible within U.S. borders. This is a reasonable calculation for transgender people to make.

[...]

Since then, policy after policy has chipped away at what few rights transgender people retained in the United States, reducing them to second-class citizens. The administration has cracked down on medical care, issuing executive orders that ban gender-affirming treatment for those up to age 19, with recent letters hinting at an expansion to age 21. Passports are being delayed or denied. Transgender people have been denied entry to the country for having legal documents that don’t match their sex assigned at birth—such as trans musician Bells Larsen, who detailed his experience this week after being denied a visa. It’s becoming harder to argue that the systematic stripping of legal recognition, medical access, and freedom of movement does not constitute a crisis—one worthy of international recognition and response.

Many other countries are beginning to recognize the loss of safety for transgender people in the United States. Entire countries such as France, Denmark, Finland, and Germany have warned their transgender citizens over travel to the United States. InterPride, a global association of over 400 Pride organizations from over 70 countries, has issued similar travel warnings. While it is admirable that they see the danger to their transgender citizens traveling to the United States, they would be well served to also recognize their place in helping mitigate some of that danger.

Let me be clear: no transgender person should feel they must flee the United States. Many of us will stay—we’ve fought for decades, and we will continue to fight. But not everyone should be expected to hold the line.

Erin Reed nails it here: other countries should consider accepting trans refugees escaping oppressive anti-trans policies in Trump America (and in red states).

[youthchronical]

How Trump’s Crackdown Is Drastically Driving Down Migration

Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border are down to their lowest level in decades. Once-crowded migrant shelters are empty. Instead of heading north, people stranded in Mexico are starting to return home in bigger numbers. The border is almost unrecognizable from just a couple of years ago, when hundreds of thousands of people from around the world were crossing into the United States every…

[gwemmieee]

I would just like to take this moment to say, as an actual refugee who actually fled one part of America to another to have less deadly treatment as a marginalized person in June of 2023, I think the "I'm moving to Canada" meme is deeply insensitive, and I think the vast majority of people who actually plan to just "move to Canada" with little other planning, no existing roots/community they're already involved in there, and no full consideration and proper detailed comparison of each individual city-sized region they might want to consider, have no idea what the fuck they're doing.

Yes I still live in America right now, and yes I genuinely believe my specific region is still one of the safest places in the world for me even right now, because it's not going to change overnight just because of a federal government on the other side of the continent. Yes I am worried that it will stop being such a safe place over time. Yes I do have many potential plans for where to go next, and they're all outside of the U.S. But Canada isn't the highest option on that list. I don't think it should be for any trans person who's actually doing the hard research. When you tell me Canada is your plan, I'm going to suspect that you're just half-assing shit out of fear. Uprooting your life and building a new one surrounded by strangers is a lot harder than putting up with anything that's likely to happen in my city anytime soon.

[thoughtlessarse]

Why are immigrants leaving Germany? A new study shows that other countries are more attractive to economically successful foreigners. Discrimination also plays a major role. The German economy is weakening — and yet many sectors desperately need skilled workers, including the medical professions, especially nursing, as well as IT, and construction. Germany also has a shortage of educators, cooks, and people who can drive trucks and buses. At the end of 2024, there were around 1.4 million unfilled positions in German companies nationwide. At the same time, more and more immigrants are coming to Germany to work. In 2024, the proportion of foreign employees was just over 16%. It has more than doubled since 2010. Employment in medical professions is disproportionately high. More than one in six doctors is a foreign citizen. In nursing, employment growth since 2022 has been exclusively attributable to foreign personnel. Currently, one in five workers in this sector is an immigrant. Thinking about leaving But do these people actually want to stay in Germany in the long term? The Institute for Employment Research (IAB) at the Federal Employment Agency has now presented a study on this issue, based on a representative online survey of 50,000 people born abroad who immigrated to Germany between the ages of 18 and 65. The survey excludes asylum seekers who do not yet have recognized residence status in Germany. The survey period ran from December 2024 to April 2025. "Twenty-six percent, or around 2.6 million people, say that they actually considered leaving Germany last year, i.e., they thought about leaving the country," said Yuliya Kosyakova, head of the Migration, Integration, and International Labor Market Research Division at the IAB, as she summarized the figures at the presentation of the study in Berlin. "Around 3%, or 300,000 people, already have concrete plans to leave."

continue reading

[neo-tokio]

Map of Chinese and Russian immigrant invasions

Red : Chinese Light blue : Slavic Russian Brown : Jomon Pink : Yayoi Yellow : Mongolian Light pink : Austronesian

[jbfly46]

What caused so many people, thousands of years ago, or maybe even hundreds of thousands of years ago, to flee the region that is now China, and even in both directions? Both across the ice bridge to Alaska, and towards, and eventually past, the Caucasus Mountains?

[adrl-pt]

Putin has been bombing Ukraine for 11 years. Maria Corina Machado in Time’s Top 100. Yashin opens a public office.

You’re watching the news from the weekly rally at the Russian Embassy in Lisbon. Today is April 19, 2:30 PM.

April 12 marked 11 years since the beginning of the war in Donbas. Last year, we talked about how Putin and his propaganda machine lied, how separatists shelled territory under their own control to maintain a state of war, how equipment was withdrawn, and how people in the Russian-occupied parts of Donbas became increasingly impoverished. When civilian casualties dropped to just dozens per year, propaganda ramped up the full-scale war, pushing the story that “they bombed Donbas for 8 years.” https://adrl.pt/event/2024-04-13/en

On April 13, Russian troops launched two ballistic missiles at the center of Sumy. Thirty-four people were killed, including two children; 117 were injured. The BBC Russian Service reports that the strike happened during the day—many of the victims were on the streets, in cars, or using public transport. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack, stating, “Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions,” just as Ukraine has. https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cm2401dn1nlo

On April 18, Russian forces hit Kharkiv with three Iskander missiles. Ukrainska Pravda reported that one person was killed and 113 injured, including nine children. Fifteen apartment buildings were damaged. https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2025/04/18/7508082/

On April 16, Time magazine published its list of the 100 most influential people of 2025. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was included. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described her as Venezuela’s “Iron Lady.” https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273783/maria-corina-machado/

Last year, we reported on how the Venezuelan opposition won the elections and confirmed their victory. https://adrl.pt/event/2024-08-03/en

We also covered the U.S. government's large reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and several Venezuelan officials on narco-terrorism charges. https://adrl.pt/event/2025-01-11/en

On April 18, a court in St. Petersburg sentenced 19-year-old Darya Kozyreva to two years and eight months in prison. She was convicted for placing a piece of paper with a quote from a poem on a monument to Taras Shevchenko in St. Petersburg and for giving an interview to the Sever.Realii website. Radio Liberty reports that in her final statement, Darya said she dreams of Ukraine reclaiming all territories occupied by Russia. https://www.svoboda.org/a/darjya-kozyreva-osuzhdena-za-stihi-i-intervjyu-saytu-sever-realii/33389507.html

On April 16, politician Ilya Yashin announced on his X account the opening of a public reception office. Russians in exile can make an appointment to receive legal advice about the laws of their host country, either in person or online. https://x.com/IlyaYashin/status/1912430779344515506

On April 18, a posthumous album by pianist Pavel Kushnir, who died in Putin’s prisons, was released. The album is titled Rachmaninoff Preludes. https://open.spotify.com/album/1sTMzA8zMVJskGjfs8fE11

Today, in the Make Art Not War section of our YouTube channel, we released a video featuring a new anti-war poem by Rusya Rassvet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXMrRxZIqcY

You can receive a book of anti-war poetry in exchange for donations that fund portable power stations for hospitals and schools in Ukraine. https://adrl.pt/net-voine/antiwar-poetry/en

All sources and links are in the description. Subscribe and join us!

[werewolfetone]

I wish they actually allowed immigrants to kill people in the uk