Leave it to Melania Trump to remind us all what a first lady who believes in legal immigration looks like.
In a rare post-White House appearance, the wife of the former president spoke at length about her personal journey to American citizenship, calling the pathway “arduous” during remarks at a National Archives naturalization ceremony in Washington, D.C.
According to CNN, 25 immigrants were sworn in as U.S. citizens at the event attended by the Slovenian-born former first lady.
“My personal experience of traversing the challenges of the immigration process opened my eyes to the harsh realities people face, including you, who try to become U.S. citizens,” Trump said.
CNN said that Melania, who married the future president in 2005 and became a U.S. citizen in 2006, “described the difficulties of trying to familiarize herself with immigration law, conducting research and painstakingly gathering information and paperwork.”
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“The pathway to citizenship is arduous,” she said during her remarks “My life turned into labyrinth of organizing paperwork.”
However, she added that the work was worth it, saying she felt a “tremendous sense of pride and belonging” after the swearing-in was done.
“For me, reaching the milestone of American citizenship marked the sunrise of certainty,” she said, according to The Hill.
“At that exact moment, I forever discarded the layer of burden connected with whether I would be able to live in the United States. I hope you’re blanketed with similar feelings of comfort right now.
Should there be immigration reform in the United States?
“Becoming an American citizen comes with responsibility, it means actively participating in the democratic process and guarding our freedom,” she told the newly minted American citizens.
“It also means leading by example and contributing to our society. It is a life-altering experience that takes time, determination and sometimes, even tremendous strength.
“Be proud of yourself, stand your ground, and embrace opportunities that lie ahead,” Melania added, imploring them: “You are American! Be a beacon of inspiration for your children and those who follow in your footsteps.”
First Lady @MELANIATRUMP welcomes new American citizens in Washington DC with powerful speech about becoming an American:
“Be proud of yourself, stand your ground, and embrace opportunities that lie ahead. You are American! Be a beacon of inspiration for your children and those… pic.twitter.com/5b3ONea9WS
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 15, 2023
Now, let’s leave aside the fact that Melania is appearing at the National Archives while former President Trump — the current front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination — is fighting a court case based, in part, over his contretemps with the National Archives regarding the retaining of classified documents. The former president faces 37 charges related to that kerfuffle, making it an odd place for Melania to show up.
Instead, consider the message this sends compared with what the current first lady Jill Biden (Sorry, Dr. Jill Biden. Wherever are my manners?) has been sending on immigration.
In 2021, the Washington Free Beacon reported, Dr. Jill “promoted a private school run by a Democratic donor that advises illegal immigrants on how to avoid arrest.”
The first lady, also a teacher, paid a visit to El Centro Academy in Kansas City, Kansas, an institution that “has published a series of videos that instruct illegal immigrants on how to avoid arrest from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
“One video, for example, advises viewers to ignore ICE agents altogether during an interaction and contact ‘a member of the community who does have status,’” the report noted, adding the president of the school “also worked with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce to create ‘safe spaces’ for immigrants by prohibiting local cooperation with ICE to ‘protect residents from deportation.’”
Earlier this year, meanwhile, Dr. Jill invited so-called “dreamer” activist Mitzi Colin Lopez to be her guest at the State of the Union address.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that, after Colin Lopez “received protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program” and graduated from college, she became an immigration activist.
The contrast couldn’t be starker and highlights an important difference between Republicans and Democrats: The GOP isn’t anti-immigrant, it’s anti-lawlessness.
The reason we have a border crisis under the Biden administration is hardly an accident. At every turn, the people associated with it have praised illegal immigration, saying there’s hardly a difference between those who undergo the “arduous” process to obtain citizenship and those who skip the line by breaking America’s laws and subsequently get rewarded by Democrats for nakedly cynical reasons.
It’s a contrast that takes a visit by the former first lady for the media to highlight — if they even bother to highlight it at all.
