Colbert suggests Canada for rich immigrants considering Trump gold visa
Stephen Colbert joked that wealthy immigrants considering U.S. President Donald Trump’s gold card visa may want to look north to Canada instead.
The talk show host suggested Canada as an alternative to the controversial Trump Gold Card, an investor visa for moneyed immigrants that he called a “pay-to-play” program.
“Yesterday, he launched his long-promised pay-to-play visa program for rich foreigners: the Trump Gold Card,” he said during the opening monologue on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “Here’s how it works: you pay a million bucks, in exchange, you get this, okay?”
The screen then showed a picture of the gold card, which features Trump’s face, and was met by boos from the audience.
trumpcard.gov
“Pretty awful. Look, quick message to rich immigrants: before you pony up, have you considered Canada?” he asked as the audience laughed and cheered
Colbert quipped, “You know, they have Katy Perry now. We used to have her, now they have her.”
Watch Colbert’s opening monologue below:
The Trump Gold Card
The Trump Gold Card visa officially launched on Wednesday, Dec. 10, after it was announced early this year.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called it “a direct path to citizenship for all qualified and vetted people.”
The new visa certainly isn’t attainable for the average person.
According to the website, the Trump Gold Card requires a US$15,000 Department of Homeland Security processing fee after a background approval. Applicants must also contribute US$1 million to “receive U.S. residency in record time.”
The visa program has drawn sharp criticism, as it expedites residency for rich immigrants. At the same time, the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown across the U.S. Videos shared on social media show people being abducted by alleged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Canada, on the other hand, does not have an equivalent of a Gold Card visa. It does, however, offer a Start-up Visa program for qualifying businesses.