President Trump’s administration is working hard to impose changes to immigration laws, taking a hard line on immigration and illegal immigrants in the US.
In his first week in the Oval Office, Trump didn’t waste time turning his presidential campaign promises into reality. He signed a number of executive orders regarding immigration targeting undocumented immigrants residing in the country.
In June, ICE carried out raids across the country, triggering protests in L.A and surrounding areas. When the protests turned violent, he deployed the National Guard and the Marines to contain the unrest.
While many criticized his action to involve the National Guard into the matter, Trump accused his critics of using undocumented immigrants to “expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.”
As the issue of undocumented immigrants filled headlines, Melania Trump’s US visa took the center stage in the discussion.
It was back in 1987 when young Melania, who is of Slovenian descent, decided to drop out of the University of Ljubljana and focus on modeling instead. It took her only a year to get a contract with a modeling agency in Milan.
Once in Milan, Melania focused on her goal of making a name for herself and went home after work instead of partying.
“She kept to herself, she was a loner. After a shoot or a catwalk, she went home, not out. She didn’t want to waste time partying,” fashion photographer Stane Jerko who spotted her leaning on a fence while leaving a fashion show at the Festival Hall said.
When she met Paolo Zampolli, co-owner of Metropolitan Models, he helped get a US visa.
Melania had been in the US since 1996, initially holding a tourist visa and later obtaining a series of work visas, her attorney said, according to Newsweek.
In 2001, she obtained the EB-1 Visa, also known as the “Einstein visa.” Per the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website, an individual may be eligible for the visa if “you are an alien of extraordinary ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a certain multinational executive or manager.”
While this visa is eligible for individuals with extraordinary achievements, such as Pulitzer, Oscar, and Olympic winners, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat, questions how Melania could have even obtained it.
“Integrity isn’t snatching lawful visa holders off the streets and throwing them into unmarked vans,” she said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. “Integrity is not revoking visas based on social media posts that hurt somebody’s little feelings, because kids decided they wanted to go after Trump or this administration. We have a thing called free speech in this country.”
Crockett asked Republicans why aren’t they scrutinizing the immigration of people close to the president.
“Why aren’t we talking about integrity when it comes to the president’s family’s visas?” Jasmine Crockett asked. “Let me tell you how you receive an Einstein visa. You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer, being an Olympic medalist, or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt.”
“Melania, the first lady, a model—and when I say model, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, or Naomi Campbell-level—applied for and was given an EB1 visa,” she continued. “It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”
While Melania or the White House didn’t respond to the accusations, a number of people took the First Lady’s side, claiming the congresswoman was just jealous of Melania’s achievements.
At an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles, California, congresswoman Maxine Waters said, “When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he’s going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America. If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania.”
“We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look.”
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