Democratic representative Jasmine Crockett suggested on Wednesday that the process by which Melania Trump received her green card back in the early 2000s may not have been on the up-and-up, while also implying that the first lady was a cut-rate model.
Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, the lawmaker from Texas lit into Republicans over immigration, saying, “Integrity is not snatching lawful visa holders off the streets and throwing them into unmarked vans. Integrity is not revoking visas based on social media posts that hurt somebody’s little feelings, because kids decided they wanna go after Trump or this administration. We have a thing called free speech in this country.” Then she wondered aloud why her colleagues across the aisle hadn’t looked into visas obtained by “the president’s family.”
Noting that Melania Trump, then Knauss, obtained permanent residency through an EB-1—which is known as an “Einstein visa” and meant for individuals with “extraordinary” abilities—Crockett declared: “You’re supposed to have some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer; being an Olympic medalist; or having other sustained extraordinary abilities and success in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt.”
She continued: “Melania, the first lady, a model—and when I say model, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford, or Naomi Campbell–level—applied for and was given an EB-1 visa…It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that the math ain’t mathin’ here.”
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The Cato Institute’s Alex Nowrasteh, who was testifying at the time, quickly interjected that “not everybody could marry Donald Trump, and I think that’s quite an achievement, so I think she deserves credit for that. Nobody up here could have done it!” Crockett responded, “You sure are right. I couldn’t do it.”
According to The Washington Post, the year Melania received her EB-1, just five people from her home country of Slovenia obtained green cards under the program.
Last year Melania claimed in her memoir that she forced her husband to stop the barbaric family-separation policy implemented during his first term in office. She has not spoken out this time regarding his administration’s efforts to go after people in Home Depot parking lots, schools, and churches.
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