Newsweek features Loren Locke's commentary on expatriates' declining perception of the United States.
From the Article
"The restrictive immigration policies introduced under the Trump administration have created uncertainty among expats."
"Sharp rise in negative perceptions of political stability is linked to hostile political rhetoric and restrictive immigration policies."
Locke Immigration Law's Take
The Newsweek piece is unusual in immigration coverage because it leads with hard survey data, not anecdotes. The Internations 2025 Expat Insider survey ranks the US 36th of 46 destinations, down from 35th of 53 in 2024; perceived political stability dropped year-over-year, environmental policy disapproval climbed from 27% to 42%, and the share of expats who feel comfortable speaking freely fell roughly ten points to 58%. Layer in the Pew data the article cites — the foreign-born population declining from 53.3 million to 51.9 million between January and June 2025, with 750,000 immigrant workers departing — and the picture is no longer atmospheric. It's measurable.
For employer-clients with international hires, the practical signal is that the retention problem has gotten quantitative. Workers who would have stayed are leaving; workers considering offers are choosing other markets. The 181 executive actions the article references in the first 100 days of the current administration are the policy substrate, but the workforce response is what HR teams need to plan against. Sponsorship strategies that assumed a "they'll stay because the US is the prize" dynamic need to revisit that assumption.
What we're recommending: where a green-card pathway exists (EB-1A self-petition, NIW, EB-2/EB-3 employer-sponsored), accelerate it. Permanent residence is the variable that converts soft retention into durable retention, and it's increasingly what determines whether a senior international hire stays through a full project lifecycle. Where green-card pathways aren't yet available, the conversation shifts to whether the role belongs in a US seat at all — which is itself a planning question, not a panic question.
Key Takeaways
- The "souring" sentiment is now backed by survey data (Internations, Pew), not anecdotes — the foreign-born US population dropped ~1.4M in the first half of 2025.
- Year-over-year shifts in expat-rated political stability, environmental policy, and freedom of expression are large enough to change retention math for international hires.
- For employers, the planning signal is durable: green-card sponsorship has moved from a long-term loyalty perk to a near-term retention variable.
- Where employer sponsorship isn't available, EB-1A and NIW self-petition pathways increasingly determine whether a senior international hire stays.