So many Americans tell us the same thing: I want to leave… but what if they close the borders and I can’t get back in? They whisper it like it’s an irrational fear, but here’s the truth most people never stop to consider: if you’re afraid your own government would trap you inside or lock you out, that says a lot more about the country than it does about the idea of leaving.
At Entrepreneur Expat, we hear this constantly during relocation strategy calls. Sometimes it’s the person we’re talking to. Often it’s their spouse. It’s always rooted in the same hidden belief: safety comes from staying close to the system you know. The government, the health system, the familiar institutions. Even when those institutions have spent the last decade tightening the screws with digital IDs, travel restrictions, proposed CBDCs, surveillance, and increasing “for your safety” limitations on movement.
The fear of borders closing isn’t really about borders. It’s about control. It’s about the quiet conditioning that taught us to trade freedom for predictability, even when the predictability is crumbling.
What Border Closures Actually Showed Us
Countries rarely lock their own citizens out. During 2020, the U.S. never once barred Americans from re-entering. But they did something even more revealing: they exposed the illusion of freedom. They required tests, digital tracking, and movement permissions while countries like Mexico stayed fully open.
That period separated the world into two types of governments:
• those that treat citizens like adults capable of choice
• and those that treat citizens like assets to manage
When people ask, “What if they close the borders?”, the real question they should be asking is: Why am I living in a place where that even feels plausible?
Fear becomes a cage long before borders ever do.
The Path to Real Freedom Starts Before You Need It
True freedom has almost nothing to do with a passport stamp. It comes from optionality. From knowing that if one country tightens its grip, you can step into another without stress, panic, or permission.
That means:
• securing residency in a second country (Mexico, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Panama — wherever fits your life plan)
• building income streams that don’t depend on one government’s rules
• diversifying your financial exposure
• creating a structure where no single border dictates your future
Once you have that, border policies stop being threats. They become inconveniences. It’s exactly why we teach our clients the same principle I used for decades in IT infrastructure: two is one and one is none. You don’t rely on a single server any more than you rely on a single country. You build redundancy long before you need it.
That’s why people with second residencies weren’t panicking in 2020. They had options. They weren’t waiting for permission.
Your Freedom Expands When You Stop Waiting for the Government to Protect It
If you’re living with the nagging feeling that something isn’t right — that the rules are tightening, that the future feels narrower than it used to — listen to that instinct. The world is not closing. It’s opening for the people willing to step toward optionality instead of clinging to familiarity.
Freedom is not something you hope stays available. It’s something you build.
And you build it one step at a time — a strategy call, a residency plan, a new income stream, a country that actually respects your autonomy.
If that’s the life you want, we can help you map it out.
Your Next Step Toward Real Freedom
If you’re ready to stop living at the mercy of one government’s decisions — and start building a global life that puts you back in control — we can guide you through every piece of the process.
👉 Apply for a free relocation strategy call: EntrepreneurExpat.com/consult
(For individuals with $1M+ in liquid assets who want a fully customized relocation and tax strategy.)
Or, if you’re still in the planning phase:
📘 Get the Relocation Roadmap Guidebook — the complete 5-phase blueprint for moving abroad
🎯 Join the Moving Abroad Blueprint Course — visas, taxes, logistics, all step-by-step
🏡 Download the Free Moving Abroad Checklist to make sure you don’t miss a step
You don’t need permission to live freely. You just need a plan — and the courage to act on it.
