Steve Scherer, a former international journalist who spent nearly three decades working abroad, says life in the United States feels unfamiliar after he returned in 2025 and began driving for Uber to make a living. The journalist, who previously worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Europe and Canada, shared his experience of returning to the US after losing his job and legal work status in Canada through a personal essay on Substack.
Former journalist, now driving Uber in US, calls America ‘darker’
The journalist returned to the US on July 4 after living and working abroad for 28 years. His position was eliminated as part of cost-cutting measures. Despite owning a home in Canada and having children enrolled in local schools, he was unable to secure permission to continue working there. He said crossing back into the US did not feel like a homecoming and described the country as unfamiliar compared to when he last lived there in the late 1990s.
“America today is as foreign to me as Italy was in 1998, when I started working there as a foreign correspondent,” Scherer said, adding, It is a darker place now. An American mother was shot on the street by a federal agent as the White House seeks to deport hard-working people who dream of making a better life for their children. The Department of Justice does not plan to investigate the murder,” he said referring to the tragic death of Nicole Good.
Blasting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, he said, “Trump needs scapegoats to distract from the seeping wound that is the relentless shrinking of America’s once-great middle class. That social grouping included me for most of my life. But not anymore.”
In Canada, the journalist earned about $130,000 a year. Driving for Uber, he expects to earn no more than $36,580 annually, which is the US federal poverty guideline. He said living comfortably in Northern Virginia requires at least double that amount. Before losing his job, he interviewed prime ministers, CEOs, and covered major political and humanitarian events for international news organisations.
After returning to the US, he rented a basement apartment in Virginia for $2,000 a month, shared with an elderly Latina woman. Despite applying for jobs, his decades of international experience did not attract interest from employers. He began driving for Uber as a last option.
Life for immigrants hard in US
On his first morning driving for Uber, Scherer picked up an older woman in Virginia, about 30 minutes outside Washington, DC. The woman, who spoke Spanish, told him she was born in Peru. She said her husband had died two years earlier after retiring from a long career as a city bus driver. Since his death, she now relies on Uber to get to work. The ride earned the driver less than $7.
The journalist said all of his passengers that morning were Latino or South Asian and were travelling to work. Among them were three schoolteachers, a hospital worker, and a grocery store employee arriving before opening hours. He said he earned about $100 in just under five hours.
Scherer said he did not know the immigration status of any of his passengers. However, he questioned government policies that aggressively target immigrants while relying on them for essential services. He asked how such actions help a country when immigrants play key roles in education, healthcare, food service, car repair, hotel work, and caregiving.
The journalist said he considers himself relatively fortunate compared to many immigrants, noting his US passport, race, savings, and support network. However, he expressed concern about rising economic pressure, a difficult job market, higher prices, and policies he believes will further shrink the middle class.
He said many of the people he now drives for Uber, including widows, teachers, hospital workers, and mechanics, are facing similar financial uncertainty. “I’m a middle-aged white guy with an American passport, so I’m not likely to be snatched off the street by ICE. I have some savings and people to lean on,” Scherer said.
Career in Canada ends after job loss
In 2019, a news agency transferred him to Canada, where he became bureau chief. He later applied for permanent residency with his Italian wife. Canada’s immigration system uses a points-based invitation process. After delays, he was asked to apply in 2023. However, he lost his job due to budget cuts shortly afterwards, weakening his application.
As a result, he was no longer eligible to work legally in Canada, including for ride-hailing services. His family lost access to state healthcare, and he said private healthcare options were limited.
In June 2025, the journalist sold his house in Canada. He sent his family to Italy, where they could live rent-free, access healthcare, and attend school.
Earlier in his career, Scherer reported on migration across the Mediterranean Sea, considered the deadliest migration route in the world. According to him, since 2014, an estimated 26,000 migrants have died attempting to cross from North Africa to Italy. Many others are believed to have disappeared. In 2014, he sailed aboard the Italian Navy ship San Giorgio as part of the Mare Nostrum rescue mission. The mission rescued about 150,000 migrants before being suspended a year later.