Chain migration in the Donald Trump family - privileged hypocrisy

Viktor and Amalija Knavs*, the parents of Melania Trump, were sworn in as U.S. citizens on Aug. 9 in New York. (Seth Wenig/AP)

Letter to the Editor: Trump should point to his 2 wives as examples of the country’s proud immigrant tradition

Donald Trump's in-laws became U.S. citizens by taking advantage of the very family reunification immigration policy that Trump decries as “chain migration.” 

Viktor and Amalija Knavs had been living in the country as legal permanent residents after leaving their native Slovenia, took the oath of citizenship at the Manhattan Federal Building in New York.

Trump often rails against this longstanding bedrock of U.S. immigration policy that dates back to before the country’s founding. He says that his immigration plan would feature “limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children.”

Perhaps his wife, Melania, is getting her parents citizenship before he can make his plan a reality. Either way, Trump’s hypocrisy here completely diminishes his credibility on this issue. Rather than continuing to demonize and scapegoat immigrants, Donald Trump should point to his wife, as well as his former first wife, as prime examples of the country’s proud immigrant tradition.

Linda Chavez

Director, Becoming American Initiative

Washington, D.C.

*Viktor and Amalija Knavs took advantage of privilege while hundreds of immigrant children are stranded and living as orphans in Donald Trump's illegal detention camps along the US Southern border.