Trump’s ‘Gold Card’ Plan May Be Possible Without Congress

Donald Trump wants to replace the current EB5 green card with what he has termed a “gold card.” Per CNN:

My first instinct — as usual — was that Trump cannot do this without Congress. But, having perused the law, I’m now not so sure. The EB5 program was reauthorized in 2022, and it’s a masterpiece of lazy delegation. All in all, it contains 114 references to the administrative agency, allowing for the use of variables “designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security” and the creation of rules “in a manner and order established by the Secretary.” Where a self-respecting legislature would provide details, it instead says, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall,” or “The Secretary of Homeland Security may,” or “If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines.” It remains to be seen whether this language is loose enough to permit the precise transformation that Trump wishes to effect. But, under our current system (which I think is unconstitutional), there certainly seems to be a lot of room.

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Charles C. W. Cooke

Charles C. W. Cooke is a senior editor at National Review and the host of The Charles C. W. Cooke Podcast.

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Donald Trump wants to replace the current EB5 green card with what he has termed a “gold card.” Per CNN:

My first instinct — as usual — was that Trump cannot do this without Congress. But, having perused the law, I’m now not so sure. The EB5 program was reauthorized in 2022, and it’s a masterpiece of lazy delegation. All in all, it contains 114 references to the administrative agency, allowing for the use of variables “designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security” and the creation of rules “in a manner and order established by the Secretary.” Where a self-respecting legislature would provide details, it instead says, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall,” or “The Secretary of Homeland Security may,” or “If the Secretary of Homeland Security determines.” It remains to be seen whether this language is loose enough to permit the precise transformation that Trump wishes to effect. But, under our current system (which I think is unconstitutional), there certainly seems to be a lot of room.