As with everything else he has done while in power, Donald Trump’s brand-new Gold Card scheme reflects a deep disregard for American history and tradition. It recasts the United States not as a nation defined by shared civic values, but as a luxury brand—one designed to cater to people like him, current Mar-a-Lago members, and future ones as well.
If you haven’t checked out official Gold Card website at https://trumpcard.gov/, go look now.
This vision stands in stark contrast to the ideals engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty in The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, which frames America as a refuge for the dispossessed rather than a playground for the wealthy.
Before Trump: The American Story We Told Ourselves
Until Trump reared his head, the United States was generally welcoming toward immigrants—or at least we liked to believe we were. Empathy for people seeking better lives in America was not confined to the political left. In fact, some of the clearest and most powerful pro-immigration rhetoric came from Republican presidents.
Ronald Reagan, once revered by Republicans above nearly all others, made his position unmistakably clear on multiple occasions:
“Virtually all of us as Americans trace our ancestry back to immigrants from distant lands, men and women who came to America with a firm willingness to work, asking only freedom.” – Ronald Reagan
In his farewell address, Reagan articulated a uniquely American idea of national identity:
“You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.” – Ronald Reagan
Reagan was not an aberration. The first President George Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990 into law, which increased immigration caps, created a Diversity Lottery to assist migration from underrepresented nation, and established Temporary Protected Status in order to provide temporary sanctuary for people fleeing conflict and disaster at home.
Even today, as immigration has become a political battlefield, former President George W. Bush (Bush II) continues to argue that immigration reform should uphold America’s long-standing tradition of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers, and create a rigorous, fair process for undocumented immigrants to get right with the law.
- Uphold our long-standing tradition of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers
- Create a rigorous, fair process for undocumented immigrants to get right with the law
Don’t get me wrong—it’s a strange time when I have to look to the right to find sanity on this topic. But here we are.
After Trump: Fear, Spectacle, and Dehumanization
Trump’s descent into the national spotlight began with spectacle. As he descended the golden escalator to announce his candidacy, he opened with an outrageous salvo:
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
After winning the election, Trump poured billions of dollars into a border wall that proved more symbolic than effective. His immigration agenda was later overtaken by the COVID-19 pandemic. When he lost the 2020 election and left the White House in disgrace, many of us believed the insanity might finally be over.
It wasn’t. In his quest for a second term, Trump sank further—most notably by spreading the grotesque lie that immigrants were eating people’s pets during a televised debate with Kamala Harris.
Now back in power, the consequences are familiar: ICE agents carrying out brutal operations, families detained, people held in makeshift facilities, and expelled from the country. Sometimes they are not even returned to their countries of origin.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has taken a hatchet to the Temporary Protected Status program by disqualifying people from some of the countries who need it most.
Trump’s contempt for immigrants appears boundless—except in one crucial circumstance.
The Exception: The Trump Gold Card
Donald Trump hates immigrants. That much is clear. The one thing that overrides this hatred is money—specifically, the prospect of wealthy new members for Mar-a-Lago or his golf courses.
Thus, the Trump Gold Card was born.
For the low price of $1 million, plus a $15,000 background check fee, individuals can now buy permanent residency in the United States. For those who want the benefits of living in America without contributing to its tax base, there is a planned $5 million Platinum Card that conveniently solves that problem, which lets its holders live in the U.S. for the majority of the year without subjecting their foreign income to U.S. taxes, unlike anyone else.
This scheme doesn’t just benefit wealthy individuals—it also privileges big business. For the same $1 million, corporations can purchase Gold Cards and assign them to employees, reassigning them at will. In practice, this overwhelmingly advantages large corporations, allowing them to recruit globally, while small businesses and startups—unable to afford such an “investment”—are confined to the domestic labor pool.
Say what you will about H-1B visas, but the system Trump is constructing is openly hostile to small and medium-sized businesses. It concentrates opportunity and talent in the hands of the largest corporations, while wrapping naked plutocracy in the language of immigration reform.
The Future
Before Trump, I had never heard of anyone taking offense at the verses of The New Colossus. In the post-Trump era, I’m honestly surprised the plaque still sits undisturbed in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, continuing to beckon those looking to build a new and better life:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The Trump Gold Card program is an affront to our country’s identity. The door is no longer open to immigrants who want to move here, work here, and eventually become Americans. That door has closed, replaced by another—one that opens only for the moneyed class.
The Trump Gold Card program is an affront to our country’s identity. The door that once welcomed immigrants seeking a better life has been slammed shut, while beside it a new door has been opened—one that admits only the wealthy.
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