It's a Family Affair!

Who put “chain migration” and “birthright citizenship” on the 2018 ballot?

On August 9, 2018, #WeThePeople granted United States citizenship to Victor and Amalia Knavs.  Born in 1944, Viktor came from the town of Radeče and, reportedly, worked as a chauffeur before becoming a car salesman.  He met Amalija in 1966 in the small town of Sevnica in Yugoslavia, now Slovenia.  Amalija hailed from the village of Raka and worked as a pattern-maker at a children's clothing factory.   

Now, THE REST OF THE STORY…

By Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired

AMWS, November 1, 2018, Virtual – Chain migration is a term describing migrants from a particular town who follow others from that town to a particular destination.  First Lady Melania Trump’s husband made the term a 2018 mid-term election issue by connecting it to “birth-right citizenship.”  

With just 5 days left to vote in the 2018 mid-term elections, #WeThePeople are taking the issue of immigration seriously.  No official inquiry by the 115^th United States Congress has advised #WeThePeople on some relevant facts behind the immigration of Viktor and Amalija Knavs. Their particular application of “birth-right citizenship” connects their grandson, Baron, to one side or the other of a wall that no longer exists. 

The Soviet Union’s break-up splintered into 15 republics, including Russia.  The dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia began almost simultaneously and under similar circumstances, yet the outcomes of these two world events seem inexplicably diverse.  While the anti-communist revolution led to the relatively peaceful break-up of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia spiraled downwards into bloody nationalist battles in Bosnia and Kosovo. 

One particular case of “chain migration” is so simple that it sounds like common sense.   People are more likely to move where people they know live, and each new immigrant makes people they know more likely to move there in turn."

Since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the United States has prioritized admitting immigrants with relatives living here.  According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, about 7 million out of the nearly 11 million immigrants who obtained green cards from 2007 to 2016 did so through family relations.

By signing off on political appeals to Republican voters, First Lady Melania Trump inserted herself into a national scandal.  Just ask yourself, What is Mueller’s job?  According to Huffington Post, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rosenstein tasked Former FBI Director Robert Mueller with investigating “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,” as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”

A revised timeline for investigating “any links” might include that period from 1944 to August 9, 2018.  A subject of the Russia Investigation is seeking to end the long-standing right to U.S. citizenship for children born to noncitizens in the United States.  Donald Trump’s in-laws are recent naturalized citizens who benefited from the U.S. immigration policy he seeks to obstruct.

On August 9, 2018, #WeThePeople granted United States citizenship to Victor and Amalia Knavs.  Born in 1944, Viktor came from the town of Radeče and, reportedly worked as a chauffeur before becoming a car salesman.  He met Amalija in 1966 in the small town of Sevnica in Yugoslavia, now Slovenia.  Amalija hailed from the village of Raka and worked as a pattern-maker at a children's clothing factory.

Research suggests that Viktor was in the League of Communists.  No evidence confirms his membership in the party, but Viktor reportedly amassed a collection of Mercedes sedans.  Melania is reportedly one of two daughters of Victor and Amalia Knavs.  Chronological investigation marks Melania’s birth 17 years before President Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down This Wall” speech.  Melania’s son, Baron, born on March 20, 2006 establishes one “birth-right citizenship” link to these facts.  

DNA testing might confirm Victor and Amalia Knavs’ family ties to Baron and, perhaps, offer insight into their lawyer’s assertion that, “The couple had met the condition of having a green card for five years.”  Attorney Michael Wildes confirmed his clients’ new citizenship status but gave no further details.

#WeThePeople granted U.S. Citizenship to Melania Knavs Trump in 2006 through an Einstein EB-1 visa for “extraordinary ability.”  Victor and Amalia’s daughter came to the US in 1996 on a tourist visa.  She extended her stay through a string of working visas for skilled immigrants, according to sources.  While working as a model in New York, Melania Knavs met Donald Trump.  Her modeling career was associated with Irene Marie Models and Trump Model Management.  Before applying for a green card - which grants permanent residency - she had worked as a runway model in Europe and had been featured, to a limited extent, in UK and US magazines.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “the eligibility criteria for the EB-1 includes professors, researchers, multi-national managers and executives, and those with extraordinary ability,” or coverage of the applicant in major publications, original and significant contributions to a field, and work displayed at artistic exhibitions.  Melania had appeared on the cover of British GQ on a fur rug in Mr Trump's private jet, and in the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated in the US.  No evidence was found confirming that she was a “top international model.”

"You do not have to be a Nobel prize winner to get the extraordinary ability visa.  I've gotten EB-1 visas for people you've never heard of and never will," said Susan McFadden, a specialist US visa lawyer in London.  Ms McFadden said she had secured EB-1s for a range of diverse specialties, from coaching a specific football position to scientific ballooning.  The trick was to define a field narrow enough to excel in, she said, but not too narrow that immigration authorities won't take it seriously.

With just 5 days left to vote in the 2018 mid-term elections, #WeThePeople are taking the issue of immigration seriously.  The math has never added up so quickly.  During World War II, Melania’s hometown of Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany, Italy, and Hungary, with a tiny area transferred to the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi puppet state.  

Afterward, Slovenia was a founding member of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, later renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a communist state which was initially allied with the Eastern Bloc.  In June 1991, after the introduction of multi-party representative democracy, Slovenia split from Yugoslavia and became an independent country.  In 2004, Slovenia entered NATO and the European Union; in 2007 became the first formerly communist country to join the Eurozone; and in 2010 joined the OECD, a global association of high-income developed countries.