President Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio is being criticized for announcing on social media, “American citizenship is not for sale.”
Rubio made the statement while promoting the State Department’s “Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force,” which the Secretary said “has taken action to revoke more than 600 visas from foreign nationals” and aims to ultimately “dismantle birth tourism networks” in the United States.
Rubio’s claim that “American citizenship is not for sale” was met with a Community Notes reply: “While the post states ‘American citizenship is not for sale,’ the U.S. government offers the ‘Gold Card’ program. Under Executive Order 14351, foreign nationals can obtain U.S. residency and a pathway to citizenship for a $1 million to $2 million gift.”
The press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom also replied with an ad for the Trump Gold Card, and asked Rubio, “Are you sure about that?”
You sure about that? https://t.co/bGFghFKGdz pic.twitter.com/sWGHS0ZD7J
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 12, 2026
[NOTE: The White House press release issued last September about the Gold Card reads: “The requisite gift amount shall be $1 million for an individual donating on his or her own behalf and $2 million for a corporation or similar entity donating on behalf of an individual.”]
In April, NBC News reported that only one person has been approved for a Gold Card visa, “despite earlier claims by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the program had generated over $1.3 billion in initial sales.”
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 12, 2026