A long-standing U.S. immigration visa program may have facilitated the flow of foreign money into American Democratic political campaigns, particularly during the 1990s, according to investigative journalist Peter Schweizer’s book “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon.”
The report focuses on the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visa, a program created by Congress in 1990 to encourage foreign investment and job creation in the United States. Under EB-5, foreign nationals who invest at least $1.05 million, or $800,000 in targeted employment areas, and create 10 or more American jobs can qualify for lawful permanent resident status.
According to the book, key figures involved in establishing and promoting the EB-5 program included Maria Hsia and John Huang, individuals who later became central to campaign finance controversies in the 1996 election cycle to help then-President Bill Clinton. A Senate investigation at that time identified Hsia as an agent of the Chinese government who concealed her affiliations while organizing political contributions, and Huang later pleaded guilty in 1999 to conspiracy charges related to campaign finance violations.
The book also references James Riady, whose family’s financial interests were implicated in campaign contribution violations tied to the same period. Following revelations, the Democratic Party returned more than $1 million in contributions deemed improper related to those incidents.
