Viktor and Amalija Knavs took their oaths to become Americans on Thursday, their lawyer said.
The Knavs are originally from Slovenia, where the first lady was born and raised before moving to the United States where she worked as a model and became Donald Trump’s wife.
The naturalisation of the Knavs is notable at least in part because Mr Trump has, as president, implemented harsh immigration policies. The president has also expressed concern for giving immigrants legal status based on family reunification, which is a policy known as “chain migration”.
While the family has not said so far whether the Knavs came to the US because of “chain migration”, an immigration lawyer told The Washington Post earlier this year that it is likely that the Trumps sponsored them to get their green cards.
“Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited number of distant relatives,” Mr Trump said during his State of the Union speech this year. “Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security and our future”.
The Trump administration recently launched a taskforce aimed at weeding out naturalised citizens who lied during their process to become citizens.
The Independent
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