The struggle on immigration policy within the Trump administration and in the Republican Party is playing out right now. Congress is considering legislation to fix and improve the EB-5 investor visa program, while the Trump administration is allowing an anti-merit based regulatory sabotage of the program to go forward.
The EB-5 program allows wealthy foreigners to invest large amounts of cash currently sitting overseas into American real estate and infrastructure programs. It helps create jobs and expands the U.S. economy. Immigrants who increase the gross domestic product of the United States surely fall into the category of merit-based immigration. The Trump administration has repeatedly stated a desire to move toward a merit-based system that rewards those coming to the country with special skills or a capacity to make America better.
