Increasing Chinese immigration to the United States seems like an odd thing to put in a COVID19 recovery bill.
Sen. Lindsey Graham is using the coronavirus recovery bills to expand EB-5 green cards to wealthy Chinese if they lend money to U.S. real estate investors and other companies, according to Politico magazine.
“How can people pushing this not see how politically explosive this is?” said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies. “An EB-5 increase would almost exclusively benefit Chinese: It is hard to imagine what they are thinking.”
Under the EB-5 visa, wealthy foreign nationals can claim that they will invest at least $500,000 and thus receive Green Cards for their family for at least two years, with pathways to American citizenship available as well. The only requirement is that the EB-5 investor creates ten U.S. jobs and help revitalize “distressed” areas, though more often than not investors fund projects in wealthy zip codes.
Currently, 10,000 foreign nationals and their families are allowed to enter the U.S. every year on the EB-5 visa. The overwhelming majority of EB-5 visas are rewarded to China’s elite — driving a migration of rich Chinese to cities across the country.
The plan is afoot even as President Trump’s administration is considering action against China for allowing the coronavirus to spread across the globe.
“Increasing Chinese immigration to the United States seems like an odd thing to put in a #COVID19 recovery bill,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said in response to reports of increasing EB-5 visa admissions. “Right?!”
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has mapped out the ever-growing list of scandals and corruption in the EB-5 visa program where wealthy foreign investors have been known to never follow through on their promise to invest.
The required investment is much too small. Any investments under such a plan should at the very require that investments not be in passive (real estate, etc) or mere takeover of an existing business, but in new business activity that will produce new jobs for American citizen. Probably the visas should also be limited to areas that are blighted (Northampton County, for example).
Anyone who reneges on this agreement should be deported and their assets frozen so the US Government can re-coop the cost of any benefits they received. Never allow them to re-enter the USA again.