'Melania and Barron First': Critics Drag FLOTUS Into Trump's Largest Denaturalization Effort Seeking to Revoke 17 Citizenships

Melania Trump and her son, Barron Trump, have been drawn into Donald Trump's largest denaturalisation effort to date, which seeks to revoke the citizenship of 17 individuals.

Court filings indicate the 17 individuals may have committed various offences, ranging from sexual abuse of a minor, wire and bank fraud, and drug distribution without a licence, and are now at risk of losing their US citizenship.

Why Melania Trump and Elon Musk Are Dragged Into the Controversy

On TikTok, commentator Aaron Parnas detailed Trump's biggest denaturalisation efforts to date, noting that between the 1990s and 2017, only 11 citizens were denaturalised in total. The announcement that 17 individuals could now lose their citizenship in a single push has drawn significant attention.

Upon hearing the news, several critics of Trump used the moment to suggest that Melania and Barron should be denaturalised first. Others made mention of Elon Musk, who was born in Pretoria, South Africa.

However, it is important to note that Trump's expanded denaturalisation process only targets individuals who committed immigration fraud. There is no proof that Melania or Musk committed similar crimes.

Immigration Fraud Allegations

According to the Associated Press, Melania booked at least 10 modelling jobs in the US in 1996 before obtaining her work visa, at a time when her B-1/B-2 visitor visa did not permit her to work. In 2001, Melania obtained the 'Einstein Visa,' which is given to individuals with extraordinary abilities in their field.

In 2016, Melania shared a copy of a letter from her immigration attorney confirming that she had followed the correct legal process. 'I am pleased to enclose a letter from my immigration attorney which states that, with 100% certainty, I correctly went through the legal process when arriving in the USA,' she wrote.

As for Musk, the tech mogul has not been officially charged with immigration fraud. He was involved in a controversy in the 1990s after first entering the US to attend Stanford University, subsequently dropping out to focus on his startup. In 2002, Musk obtained his US citizenship.

17 Foreign Individuals at Risk

The 17 individuals at risk of losing their US citizenship are nationals from the Philippines, Jamaica, Cuba, India, Haiti, Mexico, and other countries. One Indian national allegedly filed a fake H-1B visa application. Another individual from Somalia is accused of faking his identity during his naturalisation application.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that citizenship can be revoked if obtained illegally. 'When criminal aliens exploit the naturalisation process by breaking the law, there are consequences. Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters,' he said.

DHS Secretary Makrwayne Mullin also stressed that US citizenship is a privilege and must be earned honestly.

How Denaturalisation Actually Works

Under US law, denaturalisation can only be carried out through a federal court — either via civil proceedings or following a criminal conviction for naturalisation fraud. During a civil case, government lawyers must provide what the New York Times has described as 'unequivocal evidence' that someone obtained citizenship illegally or concealed a material fact in their application.

For any of the 17 individuals named in the current effort, the allegations must still be proven before a federal judge. Until that point, all 17 retain their US citizenship.