Trump to offer 'gold card' visas for $5 million

President Donald Trump said he is starting a program to offer residency and a path to citizenship to investors who pay $5 million, offering a new avenue for legal immigration even as he carries out a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migrants.

Trump said the program, dubbed the "gold card," would launch in two weeks, adding that he did not believe his administration needed to secure approval from Congress. Immigration experts say lawmakers would need to approve the change. The full scope of the plan and how it would be implemented was not immediately clear.

"We're going to be selling a gold card," Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

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"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," he added, referencing the permits currently issued to U.S. permanent residents.

Lutnick said the move could replace the existing EB-5 program, which allows foreign investors and their immediate families to gain permanent residence by investing a certain amount toward an American business and creating or preserving at least 10 U.S. jobs. Critics have said the existing program has been exploited by the Chinese government.

Asked by a reporter if participants would need to invest a certain amount of money to qualify for a gold card, Lutnick responded "yeah, exactly" but suggested that funds for the visa might be paid directly to the government.

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"The president said rather than having this sort of ridiculous EB-5 program, we're going to end the EB-5 program. We're going to replace it with the Trump gold card," he said. "They'll be able to pay $5 million to the U.S. government. They'll have to go through vetting, of course, going to make sure they are wonderful world class, global citizens."

"They can come to America. The president can give them a green card, and they can invest in America, and we can use that money to reduce our deficit," he added.

Trump has said he wants to keep pathways open for legal immigration to the U.S. even as he carries out what he touted on the campaign trail as the largest deportation of undocumented migrants in the country's history.

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Trump has moved to ramp up deportations and secure the U.S. southern border during his second term, including threatening Canada and Mexico with tariffs if they do not do more to stem the flow of fentanyl, other illegal drugs and people into the U.S.