Maxine Waters Targets Melania In Deportation Rant

People standing together outdoors in formal attire.

Rep. Maxine Waters sparked outrage by suggesting President Trump deport his wife Melania before continuing with his stricter immigration policies.

Key Takeaways

California Rep. Maxine Waters suggested President Trump should consider deporting his foreign-born wife, Melania Trump, first if he’s serious about mass deportations.
Waters made these controversial comments at a Los Angeles rally protesting cuts to the DACA program.
Melania Trump is a naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated legally through a visa for individuals with “extraordinary ability.”
Waters questioned the documentation status of Melania’s parents, who became U.S. citizens in 2018 after Melania sponsored them for green cards.
The comments came amid legal challenges to President Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship.

Waters’ Controversial Comments Target First Lady

Democratic Representative Maxine Waters has stirred significant controversy with her recent suggestion that President Donald Trump should consider deporting his wife Melania before proceeding with his administration’s strengthened immigration policies. The California congresswoman made these inflammatory remarks during a protest rally in Los Angeles against cuts to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Waters specifically took aim at the First Lady’s immigration history and that of her family, despite Melania being a naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated to America legally.

Waters specifically referenced President Trump’s executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship, which currently grants automatic citizenship to nearly all children born on U.S. soil. The executive order aims to restrict this right to only children born to U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, which critics argue challenges the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Federal courts have temporarily paused implementation of the order while legal challenges proceed, with the administration seeking Supreme Court intervention to allow enforcement.

Targeting Melania’s Family and Legal Status

During her speech, Waters specifically questioned Melania Trump’s family immigration situation, suggesting the President should look closer to home when enforcing immigration policies. “If he wants to start looking so closely to find those who were born here and their parents were undocumented, maybe he ought to first look at Melania,” Waters stated at the rally. She further criticized the President’s stance on birthright citizenship, arguing against his efforts to limit this constitutional right.

“When he [Trump] talks about birthright, and he’s going to undo the fact that the Constitution allows those who are born here, even if the parents are undocumented, they have a right to stay in America,” Waters said.

The congresswoman’s comments appear to ignore that Melania Trump immigrated to the United States legally and became a naturalized citizen in 2006. Melania came to America on a so-called “Einstein visa,” a classification reserved for individuals with “extraordinary ability.” Furthermore, Melania’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, became U.S. citizens in 2018 through legal channels after their daughter sponsored them for green cards, following all proper immigration procedures.

Rep. Maxine Waters attacked President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push over the weekend, suggesting that he should “first look at Melania.”https://t.co/e51m3vDfMe

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 26, 2025

Chain Migration Controversy

Waters’ remarks also highlighted an apparent contradiction in President Trump’s immigration stance. While the President has frequently criticized “chain migration,” the process through which U.S. citizens can sponsor relatives for legal immigration, his in-laws benefited from exactly this process. In 2018, Trump posted on social media: “CHAIN MIGRATION must end now! Some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil. NOT ACCEPTABLE!”

Critics have pointed out the hypocrisy in this position, given that Melania’s parents obtained citizenship through family-based immigration. However, supporters of the President note there is a significant difference between legal family reunification through proper channels and illegal immigration. Border Czar Tom Homan dismissed Waters’ comments, emphasizing that Melania followed all legal procedures for immigration and naturalization, unlike those targeted by deportation efforts who entered or remained in the country illegally.

Legal Challenges Continue

President Trump’s administration has continued pursuing stronger immigration enforcement, facing numerous legal challenges in courts across the country. The executive order on birthright citizenship represents one of the most significant challenges to established immigration law and constitutional interpretation. While federal courts have temporarily blocked implementation, the administration maintains that the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted for decades and does not automatically confer citizenship to children of non-citizens or those not legally present in the United States.

For many conservatives, Waters’ comments represent the latest example of inflammatory rhetoric from Democratic lawmakers who oppose the President’s immigration policies. Critics argue that targeting the First Lady’s immigration history, despite her fully legal status as an American citizen, demonstrates a willingness to politicize family relationships rather than engage substantively with policy differences.