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An Interview with David North on the EB-5 Program

By David North, Bryan Griffith, and John Wahala on January 11, 2014

 

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Mr. North, a Fellow of the Center for Immigration Studies, is an internationally recognized authority on immigration policy. His concentration is predominantly on the interaction between immigration and domestic systems, such as education and labor markets.

He has examined legal, illegal, and temporary migration, as well as immigration law enforcement and refugee resettlement policies, for a variety of governmental and non-governmental agencies, both in the US and overseas.

Prior to his work at the Center, Mr. North conducted studies for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Ford Foundation. In earlier years he served in the U.S. Labor Department as the Assistant for Farm Labor to the U.S. Secretary of Labor, and as the executive director of LBJ’s Cabinet Committee on Mexican-American Affairs. His work overseas included research for the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. in Europe and Canada, research for a post-Duvalier government of Haiti, and research for the Australian Government.

 

Table of Contents

 

 

An Introduction to David North

 

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What is the EB-5 Visa Program?

 

Immigration expert David North discusses the EB-5 immigrant investor program, which gives alien families green cards for half a million dollar investments made through DHS-approved regional centers.

 

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The Least Demanding: A Comparison of the EB-5 Visa to Programs Overseas.

 

Mr. North compares the United States’ program that only requires passive investment to those of other immigrant-receiving nations, which he contends are more rational. Australia, the Bahamas, New Zealand and the United Kingdom all secure more significant investments from aliens.

 

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Is DHS the Correct Institutional Home for the EB-5 Visa Program?

 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an agency responsible for immigrants not investment, manages the EB-5 program. Mr. North points out that it is a matter of bad casting; the Department of Commerce or the Department of the Treasury knows more about loans, mortgages, and investments.

 

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Fraud and Waste in the EB-5 Visa Program.

 

Mr. North describes two cases of EB-5 program fraud and waste. This first occurred in Chicago and was exposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The second is a South Dakota program rife with fraud and questionable government practices.

 

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National Security Implications for the EB-5 Program.

 

Mr. North discusses the potential for foreign governments and organizations to use the EB-5 program to gain entry into the United States.

 

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