Maxine Waters suggests Trump should deport Melania at anti-DOGE rally, flubs birthright citizenship meaning

Left-wing Rep. Maxine Waters implied that President Trump should deport his Slovenia-born wife during a fiery — and wildly inaccurate — weekend rant against the administration’s legal battle to eliminate birthright citizenship.

Speaking at a protest against the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cost-cutting effort in Los Angeles Saturday, Waters (D-Calif.), bizarrely brought up first lady Melania Trump’s background.

“When he [Trump] 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, 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,” Waters said.

Rep. Maxine Waters speaking at a protest against the Department of Government Efficiency in Los Angeles on March 22, 2025.

Rep. Maxine Waters speaking at a protest against the Department of Government Efficiency in Los Angeles on March 22, 2025.Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“We don’t know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look.”

Melania Trump was born in 1970 in Slovenia, then a part of Yugoslavia. She relocated to New York City on her own in 1996, initially on a travel visa before receiving a H1-B visa that allowed her to legally work as a model.

The future first lady became a US citizen in 2006 after marrying Donald Trump and is the first naturalized American to serve in that role. She is just the second foreign-born first lady in US history — joining England-born and France-raised Louisa Adams, the wife of 6th President John Quincy Adams.

Melania Trump later helped sponsor her parents in getting citizenship, which they obtained in 2018. Her mother, Amalija Knavs, died in January 2024.

US First Lady Melania Trump walking to a meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC

Waters suggested deporting first lady Melania Trump at the rally.AFP via Getty Images

Birthright citizenship refers to the 14th Amendment’s statement that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside” — which does not apply to the first lady, since she was not born in the US.

Trump and his allies have insisted that the definition of birthright citizenship should be narrowed to prevent illegal immigrants from traveling to the US so their children can be natural-born citizens. The president, who signed an executive order in January ending birthright citizenship for children of migrants, has argued that the 14th Amendment was enacted to provide for former slaves and does not apply to modern immigrants.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters speaking into microphones at a rally outside the Wilshire Federal Building, Los Angeles with a large crowd present

Waters mistakingly said that Melania Trump became an American citizen under birthright citizenship.Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

 

President Donald Trump taking the oath of office for his second term at U.S. Capitol Rotunda, with Melania, Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric Trump looking on.

President Trump signed an executive order eliminating birthright citizenship on his first day in office.Photo by CHIP SOMODEVILLA/AFP via Getty Images

“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 added in her address to the crowd on Saturday.

Waters has been an ardent critic of President Trump, and gained national attention during his first administration for calling on liberals to swarm members of his team.