Mexicans want immigrant Americans to go home

In recent months, journalists have begun covering the phenomenon of United States residents leaving their home country for Mexico.

Kate Linthicum published a piece on Wednesday in the LA Times documenting the mass migration and the impact it has on locals, who she says want them gone. Linthicum reports that American citizens "have flooded the nation’s capital and left a scent of new-wave imperialism," citing inflation accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic as a likely cause.

Locals aren’t taking kindly to the recent influx of American citizens, who have begun hanging posters around town to encourage them to leave. "New to the city? Working remotely?" one poster reads. "You’re a f*cking plague and the locals f*cking hate you. Leave."

In response to one tweet that read: "Do yourself a favor and remote work in Mexico City — it is truly magical," the poster was met with a similar sentiment across the board, "Please don’t."

"This city is becoming more and more expensive every day in part because of people like you, and you don’t even realize or care about it," one comment read.

Some Americans are taking advantage of their "oppressed" status as a minority group. Lauren Rodwell, 40, a marketer who works remotely moved to Mexico from San Francisco in January. Rodwell, who is black, said she doesn’t feel guilty about gentrification.

"I kind of feel like, as a person of color from America, I’m so economically disadvantaged that wherever I go and experience some advantage or equity, I take it," she said.

Those moving to Mexico have cited financial incentives to make the international move, according to the LA Times. "For the cost of a $2,000 one-bedroom in Koreatown, an Angeleno can rent a penthouse here," the outlet wrote.

Earlier this month, Tucker Carlson commented on the exodus of United States residents leaving the country to live in Mexico, which he says is a sign of a failing economy under the Biden Administration. Carlson shares a quote on his program, Tucker Carlson Tonight, from a CNBC article: "And a rising number of former Californians are migrating out of the country altogether and are instead heading south of the border. Many are seeking a more relaxed and affordable lifestyle in Mexico."

According to CNBC’s coverage of the story, more than 360,000 people left California in 2021, which they say is probably in part due to California continuously ranking high as one of the country’s most expensive states to live in.

Alexandra Demou, who runs the relocation company Welcome Home Mexico, said she received around 50 calls per week about Americans contemplating moving across the border.

"We’re just seeing Americans flooding in," she said. "It’s people who maybe have their own business, or maybe they’re thinking of starting some consulting or freelance work. They don’t even know how long they’re going to stay. They’re completely picking up their entire lives and just moving down here."

As a result of the influx of Americans, Omar Euroza told the LA Times that his rent has more than doubled in five years, with a recent study saying that nearly one third of Mexico City residents have moved because they can no longer afford the rent.

"Americans can come here, and they can afford everything and live like kings and queens," said American Dan Defossey, who moved to Mexico a dozen years ago and owns a popular barbecue restaurant.

But Defossey noted that Americans moving to the country  need to understand that "Mexico is not cheap for Mexicans."