USA · 18 May, 2026 · 3 min read
Expatsi Move Abroad Con Draws 600 Americans to San Diego to Plan Moves to Mexico
Event at San Diego's Hard Rock Hotel drew hundreds seeking to move abroad. Attendees plan to relocate to Mexico and start new lives abroad.
What drives Americans’ decision to leave.
10 of 11 outlets skipped it: USCIS seeks 100-200 denaturalizations monthly in FY2026..
11outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
Sin Permiso
“Economic sanctions are the primary factor driving migration to the United States”Read the original ↗
One frames it as U.S. politics; another as foreign-policy sanctions.
San Diego Exit Weekend
Hundreds of Americans flew into downtown San Diego for an intensive weekend on visas, taxes and housing abroad, as Expatsi’s Move Abroad Con held its second annual gathering May 9-10 at the Hard Rock Hotel. CNBC reported that Jesse Derr, 41, and his wife, Jess Yeastadt, 45, drove from Phoenix for a weekend trip to learn how to move to Mexico, with the conference drawing some 600 Americans from around the country. CThe Brookings Institution research cited by CNBC said the U.S. saw a net negative migration of between 10,000 and 295,000 people in 2025, and that between 210,000 to 405,000 people left voluntarily.C
Hoodline said the weekend’s ticketing reflected a serious commitment, with weekend tickets running from roughly $500 to $1,000, and it described the program as country-specific deep dives on Portugal, Mexico, Canada and New Zealand. CNBC added that Expatsi, launched in 2022, held its second annual Move Abroad Con on May 9 and 10, and that the event included two days of programming from over 50 experts.C
Political Motives Dominate
A sampling of 218 weekend attendees cited by CNBC found that 89% said they want to leave the U.S. for political reasons, while 73% cited adventure and growth and 57% said they hope to save money. CCNBC described Derr’s view that recent policies affecting reproductive rights and rulings weakening the Voting Rights Act signal the country is "going backwards," and it said his family’s timeline depends on the outcomes of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. CDerr told CNBC that if the Democratic party gains control of the House and Senate and takes "immediate, measurable action to reverse the destructive decisions made by this administration, it will affect our timeline".
Hoodline said about two-thirds of attendees hoped to move abroad within two years, and it reported that the weekend blended lifestyle and financial calculations with a heavy dose of politics. CNBC also reported that respondents had an average monthly budget of $3,856 to work with, and that hopeful movers were split among 44% individuals, 39% couples and 17% families with kids.C
Broader Migration and Enforcement
Beyond the conference, Brookings research cited by CNBC framed the broader context as the first time in at least 50 years that more people moved out of the country than moved in, with restrictive immigration policies and deportation efforts playing a role.C
tv5monde said that since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, his administration has pursued an offensive against migrants, and it quoted Ernesto Castañeda saying, "They got what they wanted. The problem is that what they want is very dangerous".
tv5monde added that about 142,000 people were deported from the United States between January 20 and April 29, citing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and official U.S. data.
Les Echos reported that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security entered a state of budget paralysis on Saturday, with Democrats and Republicans disagreeing over ICE’s practices and with thousands of federal employees facing furloughs.
Les Echos said administrative documents released the same day by a Republican governor showed ICE plans to devote $38.3 billion to acquiring and converting about twenty buildings into detention centers for migrants.