Washington: Donald Trump has intensified his deportation efforts, as he seeks to deport American citizens who commit crimes.
Even as his controversial proposal is widely considered unconstitutional by legal experts, the US President faces a counter-movement targeting his family.
An online petition moved by MoveOn.org, titled ‘Deport Melania, Melania’s parents and Baron in the first round of deportations!’ garnered over 3,000 signatures, demanding US First Lady Melania Trump, their son Barron and her parents be evicted from the country.
“Since Trump wants to deport naturalized citizens, I believe it is only fair that Melania and her parents are on the first boat out. Melania’s anchor baby, Baron, should be forced to leave as well because we know that his mother’s mother was born in a different country. That is part of the criteria that Trump is putting into place. Your mother’s mother has to have been born in the United States and we know Melania’s mother was born elsewhere. If it’s good for one, it’s good for all! There should be no exceptions! On the first boat or flight out!” read the petition.
The petition argues that if Trump is serious about national security and cracking down on immigration violations, his own family should not be exempt.
“It is important that this is done to show that it is not a matter of favouritism. If this is truly about national security, then Melania needs to go!” it stated.
Scrutiny over Melania’s citizenship
Melania, born as Melanija Knavs in Slovenia in 1970, moved to the United States in 1996 to pursue a modelling career. She received her green card in 2001, became a US citizen in 2006, and married Donald Trump in 2007.
Melania is only the second US First Lady born outside America, and the first to become a naturalised citizen.
There have been media reports questioning whether Melania maintained a valid visa during her modelling years before receiving permanent residency.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters earlier echoed similar sentiments. “We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look. 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,” she had said at a rally in Los Angeles.
Trump’s latest agenda
Trump’s recent tirade was heard during a visit to a migrant detention centre in Florida Everglades, where he said there are “many immigrants who are now citizens” who have been involved in serious crimes.
“They’re not new to our country. They’re old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that will be the next job,” Trump said, reported ABC News.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate had issued a memo few weeks ago, granting US attorneys broad discretion to pursue denaturalisation cases in alignment with “the Administration’s policy objectives.”
As per the memo, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed its attorneys to prioritise efforts to revoke citizenship from some naturalised Americans involved in certain crimes.
Musk under the radar too
Trump has even said hinted at Elon Musk’s deportation.
After the billionaire and former DOGE head repeated his criticism of Trump’s flagship spending bill, the US President was asked if he could consider deporting Musk.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“We might have to put DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) on Elon… You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” Trump said.
Musk, who hails from South Africa, is a naturalised US citizen.
