Melania Trump’s parents become US citizens despite president's hostility toward ‘chain migration’
Donald Trump said last year that ‘we want to get rid of chain migration’
US First Lady Melania Trump’s parents became US citizens in a naturalisation ceremony in New York on Thursday, completing a years-long immigration process even as President Donald Trump has called for new laws to bar Americans from sponsoring parents and other relatives.
Michael Wildes, an attorney for Viktor and Amalija Knavs, who had been living in the country as legal permanent residents after leaving their native Slovenia, confirmed that his clients took the oath of citizenship.
News photographers captured images of the couple as they arrived at a Manhattan federal building accompanied by Department of Homeland Security officers. Wildes did not elaborate, citing the couple’s privacy.
Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for the first lady, also declined to comment “as they are not part of the administration.”
The Washington Post first reported in February that the Knavs had gained legal permanent residency and that legal experts believed it was likely that the first lady had sponsored their applications for family-based green cards.