July 7, 2025, 6:16 a.m.

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The US social media joint eviction controversy: The immigration dispute and political game behind the Melania family

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Recently, a shocking piece of news has caused a huge stir on American social media - many Americans have launched a joint campaign, calling for the deportation of First Lady Melania Melania, her father and Barron Trump in accordance with US immigration law. This incident has a complex background and deep-seated causes, reflecting the long-standing controversy over the US immigration policy and the current tense political situation.

From Melania's personal immigration journey, her experience can be described as full of controversial points. Melania was born in Slovenia and obtained a US green card as a model through the EB-1 program in March 2001. The EB-1 program is an immigrant visa program designed for outstanding talents. Theoretically, it is applicable to top scholars, managers of multinational enterprises, Oscar or Olympic winners, and other excellent foreign nationals with national or global reputations. It is even known as the "Einstein Visa". Of the over one million green cards issued in 2001, only over 3,000 were given to foreigners with "outstanding capabilities", among whom only five Slovenians participated in the program, and Melania was one of them. After obtaining a green card, she further acquired American citizenship and used her green card status to apply for green cards for her parents. Now, her parents are also about to obtain American citizenship.

However, this process has been widely questioned. On the one hand, skeptics believe that Melania, as a model, is unlikely to meet the "outstanding talent" standard required by the EB-1 project. Although immigration experts say that the application skills for the EB-1 program lie in defining a niche field and proving oneself to be an authority in that field, Melania's modeling career is far from the traditional perception of outstanding talents in the eyes of some people. On the other hand, Melania was once exposed by the media for working illegally while holding a tourist visa. She herself has also said that when she first arrived in the United States, she would return to Slovenia every few months to renew her visa, and renewal is usually applicable to those on tourist and business visas. This seems to indirectly confirm the rumor of "working illegally". At a time when the United States is cracking down hard on illegal immigration and illegal work, these past experiences have become an important basis for the public to call for her deportation.

Melania's father's immigration status has also drawn attention. He obtained a green card through Melania's dependent immigration program and is about to become a naturalized citizen. Since Trump took office, he has been strongly opposed to the "family-based immigration" system. He once complained that as long as he was given an immigrant green card, he would have the opportunity to bring all his family members and distant relatives to become Americans, and promised to abolish the system during his term. Nowadays, Melania's father has obtained his status through the family-based immigration route. In the eyes of those who support Trump's immigration policy reform, this is undoubtedly a satire and a double standard.

Let's take a look at Barron Trump. As the son of Trump and Melania, although he was born in the United States and automatically holds American citizenship, he has also been embroiled in the deportation controversy this time. This is more of a venting of the public's overall dissatisfaction with the Trump administration. During Trump's administration, a series of policies he implemented, especially the immigration policy, sparked numerous controversies. He ordered the deployment of the National Guard to deal with the riots caused by the search for illegal immigrants. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out law enforcement operations against illegal immigrants in many places and had continuous conflicts with local residents. All these made the public extremely angry about the government's immigration measures. The immigrant background of the Trump family has precisely become an outlet for the public to vent their dissatisfaction.

From a more macroscopic perspective, this social media collaboration reflects the severe division in American society over immigration issues. Furthermore, this incident also bears the shadow of political games. On the American political stage, Trump has always been a highly controversial figure. His opponents and some political forces might take advantage of the public's concern over the Melania family's immigration issue to further smear the Trump administration and weaken its political influence. And among the people who participated in the joint signature, some might have also been guided and incited by these political forces. This joint eviction controversy on social media is far more than a simple questioning of the Melania family's immigration status. It is a product of the interweaving of multiple factors such as the predicament of the US immigration policy, social division, and political struggle.

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