|
 |
Here are the facts:
In 2021, 34,594 people subscribed to Popular Information after organically seeing our reporting on Google, Facebook, and Twitter (now X).
We are two-thirds of the way through 2026, and just 1153 people have subscribed to Popular Information from those same platforms.
Our work is better than it was five years ago. (We were recently awarded the David Nyhan Prize for Public Policy Journalism by Harvard’s Shorenstein Center.)
But the billionaires who control Google, Facebook, and X have made the decision to choke off traffic to independent outlets like Popular Information. They are not interested in building an audience for stories like the one you are about to read.
This means that in order to survive, we need to decouple our success from the whims of tech oligarchs. That will require investing in new ways to spread the word about our journalism.
To do this, we need your help. If just a small percentage of free subscribers like you upgrade to a paid subscription ($50/year or $6/month), we can expand our reach and magnify our impact.
Thank you for your readership and consideration.
— Judd
Trump Labor Secretary nominee pitched access to “America’s comprehensive welfare” to Chinese nationals
Keith Sonderling traveled to China to encourage investment in a Florida real estate development. Prospects were promised a green card and access government benefits.
| |||||||||||||||
 |
Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who has been nominated by Trump to permanently lead the department, is a member of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. In that role, Sonderling has pledged to “root out waste, fraud, and abuse“ in safety net programs like unemployment insurance “and protect hardworking Americans’ tax dollars.”
Prior to joining the Trump administration, however, as an attorney at the Florida law firm Gunster, Sonderling had a much different relationship with these programs.
During two trips to China in 2015, Sonderling made numerous speeches and presentations pitching Chinese nationals on investments in Florida. These events were designed to entice potential Chinese investors by emphasizing that their investment would make their entire family eligible for green cards, allowing them to live and work permanently in the United States through a controversial program known as EB-5.
At a July 2015 presentation Sonderling delivered with the Premier Capital Group, a Chinese language banner in the room emphasized that investors who received green cards would have access to “America’s Comprehensive Welfare.” This included “unemployment benefits,” “state disability benefits,” “food stamps,” “free school meals,” “low-cost public housing,” “Medicaid,” and “Retirement benefits.”
 |
Another banner that appeared alongside Sonderling as he spoke emphasized that investors could “get a green card in a short time” and that “one person applies, the whole family immigrates.” Recipients would have access to “free medical care and education benefits.”
 |
Sonderling and Premier Capital Group were seeking $500,000 investments in the Wellness Resort Hotel and Ocean-View Condominium Project. (Premier Capital Group also charged a $13,000 fee for its role.) Sonderling visited the Premier Capital Group offices as well. The project was later subject to numerous lawsuits alleging construction defects, improper zoning, and unpaid contractors.
An archived version of the firm website said that, at Gunster, Sonderling assisted “various clients with their international business dealings and capital fundraising throughout Asia.”
The China trips were documented extensively by Sonderling in