EDITORIAL — Sending the wrong message

Foreigners who want to apply for a U.S. immigration visa now have the option to expedite their application with the recently-launched Trump Gold Card.

As per reports, the standard Gold Card offers a green card and a path to citizenship for a $1 million contribution. Applicants must first pay a nonrefundable $15,000 processing fee before the Department of Homeland Security conducts security vetting.

As Trump himself said on social media, the Trump Gold Card will provide a "direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent."

So having a lot of money is now “talent,” is it?

This seems to send the wrong message that only those who can afford it can come to the U.S. and become citizens quickly. Those who cannot afford to pay will have to wait for years or perhaps a decade, even.

It’s a system that seems to prioritize people based on their wealth, not how much they really deserve to enter the U.S. or get American citizenship.

Now what if someone said derogatory things about the U.S. in social media but is rich enough? What if someone has ties to questionable or even terrorist organizations but is rich enough? What if someone comes from a “sh*th*l*” country --Trumps words, not ours or any of those third-world countries where immigration has been suspended but is still rich enough?

Are they guaranteed to get that immigrant visa anyway because of their “talent” and how much they are willing to contribute to U.S. coffers?

Of course, in the end, how the U.S. government decides to accept prospective U.S. citizens and expedite naturalization for citizen applicants is a matter that’s clearly up to them. We have no say or influence in it. It’s just that from our point of view, it looks to be a system skewed in favor of those who can quickly provide the green in tons, whether or not they really deserve U.S. citizenship.