The Daily Telegraph

Melania snubs husband to make parents citizens

- By Rozina Sabur

DONALD TRUMP’S in-laws received US citizenshi­p under a programme repeatedly criticised by the president, their lawyer revealed.

Mr Trump’s wife, Melania, sponsored Viktor and Amalija Knavs, her Slovenian-born parents, under a system referred to as “chain migration”. The pair became US citizens at a naturalisa­tion ceremony in New York, Michael Wildes, their immigratio­n lawyer, confirmed.

Under the programme, US citizens can sponsor their parents and siblings to obtain permanent residency.

Mr Trump has called it a “broken system” and wants to limit the rules to just spouses and young children. He said such a system steals jobs from Americans and threatens national security, calling for a merit-based alternativ­e favouring more educated, English-speaking profession­als.

Mr Wildes told the New York Times that Mrs Trump had acted as their sponsor. Under US law, they must have been permanent residents for five years before applying for citizenshi­p.

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