Fact Check: Did Melania's parents come to US through the process Donald Trump tried to curb?

WASHINGTON, DC: Over the years, President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of chain migration. This process allows immigrants to sponsor family members for immigration to the United States. During his first administration, Trump tried to curb the practice, calling it a threat to national security.

When he took office for the second term as POTUS, Trump announced several immigration-related executive orders, making way for a widespread effort to crack down on undocumented migrants in the US.

Recently, a rumor circulated online claiming that first lady Melania Trump’s parents came to the US through chain migration. But is there any truth to this rumor? Let's find out below.

Claim: Melania Trump's parents came to US through chain migration

In July, a rumor circulated online claiming that Melania Trump's parents came to the United States through the process of chain migration.

A YouTube video by Roland S Martin claimed, "Donald Trump built a movement on immigration cruelty — cages, deportations, and raids. But behind the scenes, he used the same 'chain migration' he demonized to import his entire in-law family while brown kids were ripped from their parents and locked in cages."

Interestingly, this isn't the first time this rumor has made its way online. The rumor circulated back in 2018.

Several X users back then came up with posts claiming that the first lady's parents came to the US through chain migration.

A user wrote in 2018, "Melania Trump's parents became US citizens through "chain migration" -- a process President Trump wants to end."

So, what is the truth behind this rumor that resurfaced again after years?

Fact Check: Melania's parents entered US through same process Donald Trump tried to end

The claims made in the online rumor are true, as Melania Trump's parents did enter the US through the same process that President Donald Trump tried to end, according to their immigration papers and confirmation from their lawyer, Snopes reported.

Meanwhile, despite the strict guidelines under which relatives are eligible for the process, the POTUS has frequently criticized such family reunification visas, calling them chain migration, the fact-checking outlet reported.

In 2024, federal immigration records revealed that her mother, Amalija Knavs, did come to the US through Melania's sponsorship.

Newsweek reported in 2024 that the conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, obtained Knavs' immigration records through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request while suing former President Joe Biden's administration to access visa records of Britain's Prince Harry.

Furthermore, Michael Wildes, the immigration lawyer for Melania's parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, also confirmed their method of immigration to The New York Times in 2018.

When DHS made Melania Trump's mother's immigration records public

In October 2024, Melania Trump was reportedly furious after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided to release her late mother's immigration records.

Reportedly, DHS made public 166 pages of records about Melania’s mother, who passed away at 78 earlier in 2024. The release took place while the conservative Heritage Foundation was fighting to make Prince Harry’s visa records public.

The Knavs family's immigration attorney, Michael Wildes, told the Daily Mail at the time that “Mrs Trump is rightfully upset,” and added that she "will be looking to explore retaliatory options to protect her family."

Moreover, Wildes was shocked at how quickly DHS released the sensitive documents, just 11 days after the Heritage Foundation filed a FOIA request.

He said, "This egregious and abhorrent violation of Ms Knavs' immigration file – including highly sensitive medical information and addresses that impact her family's security – is an outlandish affront, not just to Ms Knavs and her family, including former first lady Melania Trump, but also to the very notions of confidentiality and privacy."