IMMIGRATION/MELANIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The immigration lawyer representing first lady Melania Trump’s parents pushed back against President Donald Trump’s hardline stance on a category of family visa that paved the way for his in-laws’ citizenship, calling the President’s rhetoric “unconscionable’…Melania Trump’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, were granted US citizenship Thursday, Wildes previously had announced…The Knavses, who are from Slovenia, had been living in the United States with green cards and have been frequently spotted in Washington since their son-in-law assumed the presidency. A source with direct knowledge of Melania Trump’s parents and their immigration status previously told CNN that she had sponsored her parents for their green cards, a status that allowed them to live and work in the US indefinitely and paved the way for citizenship. The US allows several ways for citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor family members to come to the US permanently, including categories for parents, adult siblings and adult children, married and unmarried. Trump and his congressional allies have sought to limit sponsorship to spouses and minor children. The President has also advocated a ‘merit-based’ immigration system, but has not proposed any method of admitting immigrants to the US to replace those categories. In the interview Friday [8-10-18] night, Wildes said Melania Trump ‘absolutely’ knew he was coming on the program.”
–Sophie Tatum, “Immigration lawyer of Melania Trump’s parents pushes back against Trump immigration proposal,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 11, 2018 3:59 am