During an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) foolishly suggested that President Donald Trump should investigate and potentially deport his wife, Melania Trump, who became a naturalized United States citizen in 2006. According to Fox News, Waters made the comment while criticizing the administration’s efforts to eliminate birthright citizenship, referencing Melania’s immigration history. Waters questioned whether Melania’s parents were documented immigrants and implied they should be scrutinized.
“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,” Waters said at the rally, adding “We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look.”
Melania Trump, born in Slovenia (former Yugoslavia) in 1970, legally immigrated to the U.S. in 1996, and became a U.S. citizen in 2006. Waters inaccurately linked Melania’s citizenship to birthright provisions, which do not apply to her since she was naturalized.
The first lady sponsored her parents, who were also from current-day Slovenia, for green cards and then citizenship after securing her own citizenship, the New York Times reported in 2018. Viktor and Amalija Knavs, the first lady’s parents, officially became U.S. citizens in 2018. Amalija Knavs died in 2024, while her father Viktor Knavs has been spotted with the Trump family during public events in recent months, including sitting next to first son Barron Trump during the inauguration.
Melania Trump sponsored her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, who were both born in current-day Slovenia, for green cards and eventual U.S. citizenship after obtaining her own citizenship. The couple officially became U.S. citizens in 2018. Amalija passed away in 2024, while Viktor has recently been seen at public events with the Trump family, including sitting beside Barron Trump during the inauguration.
Waters’ remarks have drawn criticism for targeting Melania despite her legal immigration process. Social media users and commentators have labeled the comments as politically charged and factually flawed, accusing Waters of using personal attacks to oppose Trump’s policies.
“Waters was referring to President Donald Trump signing an executive order on his first day in office that bans birthright citizenship. The executive order works to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states, ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,’” according to Fox News. “The Trump EO seeks to narrow the scope of birthright citizenship to ban individuals who were born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas.”