The family of Jared Kushner is apparently ignoring any conflict-of-interest concerns and is publicly trying to get overseas money for U.S. projects, raising questions about the way President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser could profit from his government post. On Saturday, Kushner’s sister Nicole Meyer tried to convince more than 100 Chinese investors to invest in a Jersey City housing development.
To woo investors, Meyer touted what is known as an investor visa. The EB-5 program gives a path to citizenship to anyone who invests at least $500,000 in an American development project. An ad for the event held at the Ritz-Carlton laid it out explicitly: “Invest $500,000 and immigrate to the United States.”
Both the Trump Organization and Kushner’s family business have used the controversial visa program to attract investors before, but now the president has vowed to tighten the border—and that is being used as a selling point. “Invest early, and you will invest under the old rules,” one speaker said at the event.
Although the event in Beijing was publicly advertised, New York Times and Washington Post journalists were kicked out of the event. “At one point, organizers grabbed a reporter’s phone and backpack to try to force that person to leave,” notes the Washington Post. “Later, as investors started leaving the ballroom, organizers physically surrounded attendees to stop them from giving interviews.”
