Among President Donald Trump’s plans to keep more immigrants from coming to the United States is ending what he and the Republicans call “chain migration.” The official term is family reunification. That is to say, a legal resident of this country asks for permission to bring one or more members of his or her family to live here.
On several occasions the head of state has said that those families that obtain visas thanks to a relative “come in a group, steal jobs from Americans and what is worse, they are a threat to the security of the country.” “Chain migration should end. It opens the door to terrorists. Some people come and bring the whole family. Some of them can be truly bad. We won’t accept it,” Trump has said*. This is the most common legal way of moving to the United States, where in 2016 around a million immigrants arrived as immediate relatives of a resident or citizen.
The president wants the laws to be changed so that each immigrant can only bring with him or her a spouse and minor children. His intent is that priority be given to highly educated immigrants who speak English. He is determined to end the program when it does not concern the parents of his wife.
Last August, Amalija and Viktor Knavs became citizens of the United States, following the same process that their son-in-law wants so badly to eliminate. Their attorney, Michale Wildes, confirmed that they were able to do so thanks to their daughter and taking advantage of the family reunification process. As of now, neither the president nor first lady have made any statement about this case, and the White House said that it can’t comment, because the Knavs are private citizens.
To obtain United States citizenship, an individual is supposed to have a green card or legal residence for five years, supported by a member of the family or a job for which it is demonstrated that no one here can perform, as well as knowledge of civics and the language. The process can last from 11 months to two years, depending on the case, with immigrants from Mexico, India and the Philippines taking the longest to obtain citizenship.
Until recently, the Slovenian in-laws, Mrs. Knavs, 73, and Mr. Knavs, 74, just two years older than his son-in-law, lived with their daughter in the New York Trump Tower, and although they have not moved definitively to Washington, they are frequently seen in the official mansion, where, it is said, they are often with Barron, their grandson. They also travel on weekends and holidays with the presidential spouses to Mar-a-Lago, the luxurious beach club that Trump owns in Florida.
The Knavs had Melania, born Melanija, in 1970, in Sevnica, a town of 4,500 inhabitants, when Slovenia, a small republic of 2 million people, was part of Yugoslavia under the control of the socialist leader Josip Broz Tito. Mr. Knavs was a member of the Communist Party, as was everyone there at that time, and a seller of automobile parts. Mrs. Knavs made children’s clothes, including those of her two children. Their neighbors describe Melania as a shy adolescent who wanted to graduate from Ljubljana University, but in 1987, when she was 17, the photographer Stane Kerko asked her to pose for him. At 18, a Milan modeling agency signed a contract with her. She changed her last name to Knauss, which sounds more German.
She arrived for work in New York in 1996, although the legal details and her migration status at that point are not known, and soon after she would appear in a gigantic advertisement for Camel cigarillos hung in the heart of Times Square. In 1998 she met Trump, when she was 28, and he was 52 and married. The woman who is now first lady, and who speaks English, French and German in addition to Slovenian, obtained her permanent residency in 2001 under the program known as the “Einstein Visa,” which is granted to individuals with extraordinary abilities – generally scientists, professors, or investigators. In 2006, then married to the magnate, she became an American citizen.
For many it is not clear how her parents achieved citizenship; others have doubts about the process followed by Melania. The president's critics say that the case of his in-laws reflects his hypocrisy, and that here there are two migration systems: one for the simple immigrant, people who have no power and little money; and one for those considered important and influential, who enter and stay without a problem.
*Editor's note: The source of this quote, although accurately translated, could not be independently verified.
Entre los planes del presidente Donald Trump para impedir que más inmigrantes vengan a los Estados Unidos, está el terminar con lo que él y los republicanos llaman “inmigración en cadena”. El término oficial es Reunificación Familiar. Es decir, que un residente legal de este país solicite permiso para traer a vivir aquí a uno o más miembros de su familia.
En varias ocasiones el mandatario ha dicho que esos familiares que obtienen visas gracias a un pariente, “vienen en grupo, roban empleos a los estadunidenses y lo que es peor: son una amenaza para la seguridad del país. La inmigración en cadena debe terminar. Abre el camino a terroristas. Alguna gente viene y se traen a toda la familia, algunos de ellos pueden ser verdaderamente malos. No lo vamos a aceptar”, ha dicho Trump.
Es ésta la manera legal más común de mudarse a los Estados Unidos, donde en 2016 cerca de un millón de inmigrantes llegaron como parientes inmediatos de un residente o ciudadano.
El presidente quiere que se modifiquen las leyes, que cada inmigrante sólo pueda traer consigo al cónyuge y los hijos menores de edad. Su intención es que se dé prioridad a inmigrantes altamente educados y que hablen inglés. Está decidido a acabar con el programa mientras no se trate de los padres de su mujer.
Amalija y Viktor Knavs se convirtieron en agosto pasado en ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos siguiendo precisamente el proceso legal que su yerno tanto quiere eliminar. Su abogado, Michael Wildes, confirmó que lo lograron gracias a su hija y aprovechando el proceso de reunificación de familias. Hasta el momento ni el presidente ni la Primera Dama han hecho declaración alguna sobre el caso y la Casa Blanca dijo que no puede comentar, porque los Knavs son ciudadanos privados.
Para lograr la nacionalidad estadunidense, se supone que por cinco años antes se debe tener Green Card o residencia legal, respaldada por un familiar o por un empleo que demuestre que nadie aquí puede desempeñar ese trabajo; así como conocimientos cívicos y del idioma. El proceso puede durar de once meses hasta años dependiendo de cada caso, siendo los inmigrantes de México, India y Filipinas los que más tardan en obtenerla.
Los suegros eslovenos, ella de 73 años, él de 74 y sólo dos años mayor que su yerno, hasta hace poco vivían con su hija en la torre Trump de Nueva York y aunque no se han mudado definitivamente a Washington, son frecuentemente vistos en la mansión oficial donde, se dice, le hacen compañía a Barron, su nieto, y viajan los fines de semana y festivos con la pareja presidencial a Mar-a-Lago, el lujoso club de playa que Trump posee en Florida.
Los Knavs tuvieron a Melania, entonces llamada Melanija, en 1970 en Sevnica, un pueblo de 4 mil 500 habitantes, cuando Eslovenia, una pequeña república de dos millones de personas, era parte de Yugoslavia, bajo el mando del líder socialista Josip Broz Tito. Él, miembro del partido Comunista, como todos allá en ese entonces, era vendedor de refacciones para autos y ella confeccionaba ropa para niños, incluyendo la de sus dos hijas.
Sus vecinos describen a Melania como una adolescente tímida que deseaba graduarse de la Universidad de Liubliana, pero en 1987, cuando tenía 17 años, el fotógrafo Stane Kerko le pidió que posara para él. A los 18 fue contratada por una agencia de modelos en Milán, donde cambió su apellido a Knauss, que suena más germánico.
Se desconocen los detalles legales o cuál fue su calidad migratoria pero en 1996 llegó a trabajar a Nueva York y pronto tendría su foto en un gigantesco anuncio de cigarrillos Camels colgado en el corazón de Times Square. En 1998 conoció a Trump, ella de 28, él de 52 años y casado.
La hoy Primera Dama, que habla además de esloveno, inglés, francés y alemán, en 2001 obtuvo su Residencia Permanente bajo el programa conocido como “Visa Einstein” que se otorga a individuos con habilidades extraordinarias, generalmente científicos, catedráticos o investigadores. En 2006, ya casada con el magnate, se hizo estadunidense.
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