Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who in May vowed to “eliminate waste, fraud and abuse,” was exposed Sunday for having pitched foreign nationals a real estate investment opportunity with the promise of green cards and access to “America’s Comprehensive Welfare” for their entire families.
The revelation was unearthed in a report from Popular Information, which details two trips Sonderling took to China in 2015 before joining the Trump administration.
Working at the time with the Florida law firm Gunster, Sonderling delivered multiple presentations on behalf of Premier Capital Group, an international real estate consulting and investment company.
One presentation promised Chinese nationals, in exchange for investing in a U.S. resort hotel condominium project, that they could “get a green card in a short time,” and that after “one person applies, the whole family immigrates," according to banners at the event reviewed by Popular Information. Once immigrated, the Chinese nationals and their families were promised access to U.S. welfare, including “unemployment benefits,” “food stamps,” “low-cost public housing,” “Medicaid” and “retirement benefits.”
“The China trips were documented extensively by Sonderling in hundreds of photos reviewed by Popular Information that were published to two public Flickr accounts,” Popular Information’s report reads.
The pitch to Chinese nationals would utilize the United States’ EB-5 visa program, a program that grants foreign nationals green cards for foreign investors. That same program has been criticized by the Trump administration, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick calling it “full of nonsense, make believe and fraud” in 2025.
“The photos document that Sonderling participated in at least five speaking engagements touting EB-5 visas in China,” Popular Information’s report reads. “Most of these seem to be connected to the same hotel and condo project.”
Sonderling was tapped by Trump to lead the Labor Department in June, and also sits as a member of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. He did not respond to a request for comment from Popular Information, the outlet reported.