Robert Reich wrote the following and I am reposting it here for my friends who live in other countries.
Friends, I’m addressing this letter especially to those of you who live in other lands. As you probably know, we here in the United States are facing the biggest emergency in the history of our democracy, and we need your help.
Trump and other members of his regime (Elon Musk, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Kash Patel, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi) are actively undermining our system of government — usurping Congress’s power to fund the government, saying they “don’t care” what judges say, arresting peaceful protesters, investigating Trump’s “enemies,” siding with Putin against Ukraine, encouraging bigotry, and sowing widespread fear.
Please know that the Trump regime doesn’t represent the majority of Americans. Trump won the 2024 presidential election by a razor-thin (1.5 percent) margin, but half of all Americans didn’t vote, including many who voted for Biden in 2020. Polls consistently show most Americans do not support what Trump is doing.
How can you help us? Like most bullies, Trump can be constrained only if everyone stands up to his bullying — including you.
First, if you are thinking about a trip to the United States, please reconsider. Why reward Trump’s America with your tourist dollars? Spending by non-Americans in the United States is a significant source of tax revenue and a major “export” of this nation. There’s no reason for you to indirectly support Trump’s economy. Many international travelers concerned about Trump’s authoritarianism have already canceled trips to the United States. I suggest you do so, too.
Last week, Trump threatened a 200 percent tariff on European wine and alcohol after calling the European Union “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World.” Why reward this bellicose rhetoric? Many Europeans are already skipping trips to Disney World and American music festivals. Travel from China, a frequent target of Trump’s contempt, is down 11 percent. Chinese travelers are choosing to vacation in Australia and New Zealand instead of visiting U.S. national parks. Our dear neighbors north of the border, who have long been the major source of international travel to the United States, are deciding to visit Europe and Mexico instead. In response to Trump’s repeated desire to make Canada a “51st state,” Canada’s former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has urged Canadians not to vacation in America. An informal boycott by Canadian travelers has begun. The number of Canadians returning by car from visits to the United States already fell by 23 percent in February, and air travel by Canadians returning from the United States was down 13 percent relative to last year, according to Statistics Canada. Overall, it’s expected that international travel to the United States will drop at least 5 percent this year. Although we have loved (and profited from) your visits, I urge you to join many of your compatriots and at least for now decide not to come to the United States.
Second, if you are thinking about coming to the United States on a student or even on an H-1B visa, which allows highly skilled foreign citizens to live and work here, you should also reconsider. Perhaps wait a few years until, hopefully, the Trump regime has ended. It is not entirely safe for you to be here, in any event. Dr. Rasha Alawieh, 34, a kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University’s medical school, who has been in the United States legally on an H-1B visa, was just deported without explanation — even though a court had blocked her expulsion. Dr. Alawieh had traveled last month to Lebanon, her home country, to visit relatives. When she tried to return from that trip to the United States, she was detained by U.S. customs and immigration officials and put on a flight to Paris, presumably on her way to Lebanon. Lebanon is not even on a draft list of nations from which the Trump administration is considering banning entry to the United States. Even if there’s a shortage in America of skilled workers in your specialty, you could be deported at any time, for any or no reason.
Likewise, if you are considering coming to America on a student visa, you might consider the risk at this time. A Columbia University graduate student was arrested and detained for no reason other than that he peacefully protested Netanyahu’s policies in Gaza. The administration of Brown University is advising foreign students, ahead of spring break, to “consider postponing or delaying personal travel outside the United States until more information is available from the U.S. Department of State.”
It is not just the risk. It’s also the circumstances. If you care about democracy, this is not the time to come here on a student or H-1B visa because the Trump regime is riding roughshod over the Constitution of the United States.
On Sunday, the Trump regime deported hundreds of Venezuelan nationals from the United States under the centuries-old Alien Enemies Act — which until now has been used only in times of war — even though a federal judge blocked the decision and ordered planes carrying some of the Venezuelans to turn back to the United States. On Sunday night, Trump told reporters that the Venezuelans he sent back to Venezuela were “bad people. “But no one can take Trump’s word that these were “bad” people. Trump routinely uses the term “bad people” to refer to those who oppose or criticize him, or whom he dislikes. Whatever your reason for wanting to come to the United States — as a visitor, a student, or an H-1B skilled worker — you might reconsider your plans. Deciding not to come would send a signal that you’re justifiably worried about your safety and security here and you are as repulsed by the Trump regime’s attacks on democracy as are most of us Americans.
Fa - the Green Dragon 
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