Staying in US to get tougher? Vance says green cards ’don’t give indefinite right’ after Trump’s ‘gold card’ pitch

Weeks after US President Donald Trump floated selling US residency to wealthy foreigners for around $5 million through a “gold card”, Vice President JD Vance’s remarks on immigration suggest a tougher stance, potentially shutting the door on those seeking a green card for permanent residency and work in the United States.

Speaking on Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian protester and a green card holder, whom the administration seeks to deport, JD Vance said, “A green card holder doesn't have an indefinite right to be in the United States.”

“This is not fundamentally about free speech. Yes, it’s about national security, but it’s also more importantly about who we, as an American public, decide gets to join our national community,” JD Vance said.

“I think we’ll certainly see some people who get deported on student visas if we determine that it’s not in the best interest of the United States to have them in our country,” Vance further said, indicating that students who are a national threat could be deported too.

In February, US President Donald Trump shared his idea of replacing a visa programme for foreign investors with a so-called “gold card” that could be bought for $5 million as a route to American citizenship.

Donald Trump said he will replace the “EB-5” immigrant investor visa programme, which allows foreign investors who invest large sums of money that create or preserve US jobs to become permanent residents, with a so-called “gold card.”

The EB-5 programme offers green cards to foreign investors who commit to funding US businesses. “We are going to be selling a gold card,” Donald Trump said, adding, “We are going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million.”

“It's going to give you green card privileges plus it's going to be a route to (American) citizenship, and wealthy people would be coming into our country by buying this card,” Trump said.

(With Reuters inputs)