Even as Donald Trump advertises his hard-line approach to border crossers, he is actively soliciting one particular group of immigrants: rich ones. In February, Trump proposed that America start offering a U.S. 'gold card' for $5 million. 'Green-card privileges, plus' is how the president described it: 'It's going to be a route to citizenship, and wealthy people will be coming into our country,' he said. Trump predicted that the United States could sell a million of these cards, enough to eliminate the national debt. Even Russian oligarchs could be eligible, he said'though (thanks to economic sanctions) 'they're not quite as wealthy as they used to be.' Trump seemed to relish the scheme's shock value. But these days, buying a visa or passport is not controversial: About half of the world's nations already offer visas, permanent residence, or even full citizenship for sums ranging from the low five to low seven figures. The U.S. itself grants up to 10,000 residency permits a year...
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