Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called for scrutiny of First Lady Melania Trump’s immigration history during an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles on March 22, suggesting President Donald Trump should examine his own family’s documentation status before implementing restrictive citizenship policies.
Speaking to hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest the Trump administration’s government efficiency initiatives, Waters referenced the president’s recent executive order targeting birthright citizenship.
“When he 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 told the crowd. “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.”
The California representative questioned whether the first lady’s parents were properly documented, suggesting “maybe we better just take a look.”
The remarks come as President Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship faces legal challenges. Signed on his first day in office, the order aims to interpret the 14th Amendment more narrowly by excluding children of illegal immigrants or those with temporary non-immigrant visas from automatic citizenship. The administration recently appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Melania Trump, born in what was then Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006. She holds the distinction of being the first naturalized citizen to serve as first lady and only the second first lady born outside the United States, following Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams.
The first lady sponsored her Slovenian parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, for legal permanent residency and citizenship after securing her own status. They became U.S. citizens in 2018. Following Amalija’s death earlier this year, Viktor Knavs has been seen accompanying the Trump family at various public events, including sitting beside his grandson Barron during the presidential inauguration.
Waters’ comments have triggered widespread reaction across social media platforms, with conservative critics condemning the representative’s statements about the first lady.
Saturday’s protest, which included a march to the VA hospital on Wilshire Boulevard, centered on opposition to the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to reduce federal spending and identify potential waste and corruption within government agencies.
“We are here because we are not going to let Trump, we’re not going to let Elon Musk, his co-president, or anybody else take the United States Constitution down,” Waters declared during her address.
The protest occurred as the first lady continues her advocacy work, including promoting the Take It Down Act, legislation designed to protect children from online targeting. The initiative has received coverage on programs like “Fox & Friends,” highlighting Melania Trump’s focus on child safety issues.
Waters, a longtime critic of the Trump administration, has represented California’s 43rd congressional district in Congress since 1991, and is in her 18th term in the House, making her one of the most senior members of the House of Representatives.
The controversy underscores the continued tensions surrounding immigration policy, which remains a cornerstone of President Trump’s political agenda during his second term in office.
