Plan: $5 Million Will Get You A “Trump Card” With Green Card Privileges
[guest post by Dana]
Last month, President Trump announced that wealthy foreign nationals could purchase a $5 million “Gold Card”:
“We’re going to be selling a Gold Card. You have a green card. This is a gold card,” he said. “We’re going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million. And that’s going to give you green card privileges.”
Today, Trump defended his plan:
During an interview with the president, Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked, “$5 million investment from a foreigner coming into the United States. Why should our citizenship be purchased for any amount of money? Especially given the fact that you are America First.”
“That’s why, because I’m America First,” replied Trump. “Because at $5 million, you’re getting a lot of things, but you’re getting $5 million. Let’s say we sell a million of them. That’s $5 trillion. We are now an unbelievably successful country paying down tremendous amounts of debt. It’s all going to pay down debt. We’re going to have very little debt.”
“If you did $5 million, now, generally people that can pay $5 million are going to be job producers, okay? They’re going to be successful, they’re going to produce jobs. But here’s another thing. Apple comes to me, a lot of companies come to me, they say, “Sir, we just made a deal to hire the number one student at the Wharton School of Finance or at Harvard Business School or anything else or MIT or Stanford or any of them, but they are going to throw them out of the country the day after graduation.” They’ll buy these.”
Trump said that “his people” want to call the cards the “Trump Card” because it will sell even more than a mere Gold Card.
—Dana
Hello.
Dana (cacbe8) — 3/19/2025 @ 7:39 pm“Let’s say we sell a million of them. That’s $5 trillion.”
lmao
Davethulhu (61e972) — 3/19/2025 @ 7:44 pmThere’s already an EB-5 program where, instead of just writing a check, the immigrant actually has to do something to create jobs, and they’re better potential Americans for it.
Paul Montagu (f93fe0) — 3/19/2025 @ 7:55 pmThis idea doesn’t bother me at all.
Nate (31ba48) — 3/19/2025 @ 8:02 pmThere’s been a lot of gaming the EB-5 with the standard fakery we’ve come to accept.
Ingot9455 (3125e7) — 3/19/2025 @ 8:10 pmAt least with the Trump card, it’s cash on the barrelhead to go against our national debt.
Sure, we are concerned about economically poor venuzuelans sneaking in, but actual S. American drug lords, Russian mob kingpins, and Osama bin Laden could all buy their way in, no problem. That seems like an excellent idea.
Nic (120c94) — 3/19/2025 @ 9:56 pmMaybe trump will make them buy teslas!
asset (692b86) — 3/19/2025 @ 10:17 pmIt is a long way from peddling French postcards in Times Square.
His grandfather was a pimp, too.
His tiff with Justin Trudeau may have started when, on a state visit to Canada in his first term, Trudeau showed him where Frederick Trump had his saloon and brothel during the Klondike Gold Rush.
nk (a427e7) — 3/20/2025 @ 4:59 am@3
That is the exact program they’re using.
Instead of 1 million, it’s upped to 5 million.
I’d rather, if he can, end that program altogether, but if he can’t, upping it to 5 million is the least he can do.
Wealthy people is going to find ways to emigrate here, so charging them more seems like a trivial ask.
whembly (b7cc46) — 3/20/2025 @ 6:27 amIt’s not whembly, it’s a straight cash transaction, with no strings attached about creating jobs.
Paul Montagu (f93fe0) — 3/20/2025 @ 6:51 amI don’t have any particular objections to Trump’s proposal, except I don’t want Trump’s “nice” Russian oligarchs and other gangsters to get in.
I don’t think anybody knows what it really is.
Donnie thought of something and it’s a great idea and he’s going to tell everybody about it and everybody had better pay attention when he does.
And give him a cookie!
nk (a427e7) — 3/20/2025 @ 7:06 am@10
Not really disagreeing… but, I thought it was the same program, as it has a limit of how many can be issued in 1 year. (100k?) So, it’s a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of things, not that much (I doubt the applicants would reach the max threshold anyways).
whembly (b7cc46) — 3/20/2025 @ 8:13 amMany countries have programs like this. Invest $5 million into many countries and they’ll give you a permanent visa. This isn’t actually a Trump invention.
Of all the things that Trump is trying, this is well under the radar. It probably needs Congress to amend the law, but it’s not so very terrible.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 9:19 am“Let’s say we sell a million of them. That’s $5 trillion.”
How many wealthy foreigners need a bolthole? China, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, half of Africa? It’s not all that silly a possibility. Suppose you sold 5 million of them.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 9:22 amS. American drug lords, Russian mob kingpins, and Osama bin Laden could all buy their way in, no problem. That seems like an excellent idea.
The “coven schools” argument.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 9:23 amHis grandfather was a pimp, too.
JFK’s father was a mobster before he became an ambassador. It’s just the natural growth of the individual.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 9:24 amI don’t have any particular objections to Trump’s proposal, except I don’t want Trump’s “nice” Russian oligarchs and other gangsters to get in.
Perhaps a “moral turpitude” clause allowing expulsion for cause. After, of course, due process.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 9:26 amAs Paul pointed out above, no investment is required under the Trump Gold Card.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2025 @ 9:47 amAs Paul pointed out above, no investment is required under the Trump Gold Card.
So what. Anyone who is willing to pay $5 million for residency rights will have plenty of reasons (and cash) to invest.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 10:22 amSo what. Anyone who is willing to pay $5 million for residency rights will have plenty of reasons (and cash) to invest.
Kevin M (a9545f) — 3/20/2025 @ 10:22 am
The “so what” is that those who could afford the $5M golden ticket may have no interest in investing, but a big interest in avoiding prosecution in their home countries. They would wealthy enough to live off their overseas earnings but at the same time receive the protection of the US government.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2025 @ 10:34 amThat’s what he wants
It requires legislation, and Trump was not saying anything different. It shows that Trump is really pro-immigration.
Now $5 million is way too high a price and risks being tilted toward criminals and fraudsters.
But if it was $20,000 it could solve a lot of difficulties. It could be paid by an employer or family or GOFundMe or by an insurance company or a bank advancing the money as a loan.
There’s still is a problem with Trump’s “extreme vetting” and even before Trump. Not even people who worked with the US forces in Afghanistan and were vouched for could easily pass scrutiny.
If you want to stop smuggling it should be set lower than $20,000 (depending on region maybe) so as to undercut them.
Trump’s base is so virulently anti-immigration that I don’t think $5 million will be enough to pass into law. Or they’ll try to set a quota, which is either pointless or can render the law broken by creating a waiting list.
Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 3/20/2025 @ 12:53 pmOnly if you have the $5M to buy the golden ticket.
Comedy gold!
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2025 @ 1:56 pmMan, who would have thought that a bunch of fascists with very specific ethnic grievances are shipping said people to concentration camps.
Totally unprecedented.
Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 3/20/2025 @ 2:30 pmThe Administration is apparently considering a ban (or heavily restrict) on travel from 34 countries, most of which are south of the Tropic of Cancer.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2025 @ 2:42 pm$20,000 is way too low. People could loan that, borrow that, etc. Coyotes could force people into taking out loans for that amount.
But 5 million puts it beyond the casual.
Ingot9455 (69c51d) — 3/20/2025 @ 7:30 pm@kevin@15 neither I nor google know what the “coven schools” argument is. So I don’t know?
Nic (120c94) — 3/20/2025 @ 8:48 pmIngot9455 (69c51d) — 3/20/2025 @ 7:30 pm
You mean loansharks. There would be no more coyotes. Except to get toa U,S, State Deartment facility in a foreign country.
Sammy Finkelman (8b778d) — 3/21/2025 @ 3:12 am“I have never been to America before. How much do you tip the concierge?
The more you guys talk about it, the more it sounds like the kind of idea a jumped-up bellboy with dollar signs for eyes would come up with.
nk (057f84) — 3/21/2025 @ 4:28 am