A controversial visa program established over three decades ago has served as a pipeline for foreign money flowing into American political campaigns, with the vast majority originating from China, according to investigative journalist Peter Schweizer’s latest book.
The Employment-Based Fifth Preference visa, commonly known as EB-5, was created through the 1990 Immigration Act with the stated purpose of attracting foreign investment to American businesses and spurring job creation.
Under the program’s framework, foreign nationals who invested a minimum of $1.05 million, or $800,000 in economically distressed regions, and generated at least ten American jobs received green cards and permanent resident status.
The fast-track application process involved minimal vetting of participants.
Schweizer’s investigation, detailed in “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon,” traces the program’s origins to figures who later became central to fundraising controversies in the 1990s.
Maria Hsia, a Chinese-American with connections to Indonesia’s Riady family and their Lippo Group financial institution, played a key role in establishing the visa program.
John Huang, a Lippo Group executive, also featured prominently in the program’s development.
These individuals subsequently emerged as major players in campaign finance scandals during the 1996 election cycle.
A Senate investigation identified Hsia as an “agent of the Chinese government” who allegedly concealed her Beijing ties while directing funds to political campaigns.
Huang entered a guilty plea in 1999 to felony conspiracy charges involving campaign finance law violations.
James Riady, whose father Mochtar founded the Lippo Group, pleaded guilty in 2001 to conspiracy charges connected to illegal campaign contributions made to Democratic candidates in 1996.
The Democratic Party ultimately returned more than one million dollars in contributions deemed improper following these revelations.
According to Schweizer’s sources, investigators believe the EB-5 program was specifically constructed to facilitate foreign monetary contributions to American political campaigns, with Democratic candidates receiving the bulk of these funds.
The mechanism functioned by enabling foreign nationals to gain U.S. permanent resident status, allowing them to make campaign donations despite lacking voting eligibility.
Schweizer highlights the case of Danhong “Jean” Chen, a Chinese citizen who secured permanent resident status and operated a firm assisting foreign investors in obtaining EB-5 visas.
Her operation generated $52 million in revenue while directing $294,300 to Democratic campaigns.
An additional $449,052 came from unidentified individuals who listed Chen’s law firm address as their own.
Chen and her husband Jianyun “Tony” Lee faced indictments for visa fraud and identity theft, with Lee serving jail time and Chen fleeing before being apprehended in Kyrgyz Republic.
Firms specializing in EB-5 applications openly advertised to foreign clients that visa holders would gain donor access to the American political system.
These companies marketed their capacity to arrange meetings with high-ranking U.S. officials, including a 2017 instance involving President Donald Trump.
Some operations explicitly framed campaign contributions as transactions comparable to business practices common in their clients’ home countries.
Chinese nationals comprised the overwhelming majority of EB-5 applicants, raising concerns about potential Chinese Communist Party influence given Beijing’s documented interest in shaping Western political landscapes.
During her 2008 presidential primary campaign, Hillary Clinton received numerous thousand-dollar donations from New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood. Investigators discovered many donors resided in deteriorating buildings with visible structural decay.
Follow-up inquiries revealed that several Chinese donors had received specific directions from “neighborhood associations” to support Clinton’s candidacy.
Some of these community organizations maintained connections to the United Front Work Department, an entity Beijing employs to promote Communist ideology internationally.
Schweizer notes a significant discrepancy in Chinese government policy regarding EB-5 operations. While Beijing theoretically restricts citizens from transferring more than $50,000 outside China’s borders annually, EB-5 recruiting firms operate freely within the country despite visa requirements far exceeding this limit.
The program has also granted foreign nationals access to sensitive American infrastructure projects, compounding national security implications.
Schweizer’s research indicates the EB-5 visa system, allegedly designed by individuals with Chinese Communist Party ties, has provided Beijing with numerous channels for introducing untraceable political contributions into American elections over multiple decades.
