Amid mounting backlash over US President Donald Trump's reported plans to deport naturalized citizens, a viral petition on MoveOn, a progressive advocacy platform, called for the deportation of First Lady Melania Trump, her parents, and son Barron Trump--arguing that Trump's own family should not be exempted from the policies he championed.
The petition stated, "Since Trump wants to deport naturalized citizens, I believe it is only fair that Melania and her parents are on the first boat out. In addition, Melania's anchor baby, Baron, should be forced to leave as well because we know that his mother's mother was born in a different country. That is part of the criteria that Trump is putting into place. Your mother's mother has to have been born in the United States and we know Melania's mother was born elsewhere. If it's good for one, it's good for all! There should be no exceptions! On the first boat or flight out!"
The petition further argued that the move would prevent perceptions of favoritism, adding, "If this is truly about national security, then Melania needs to go!" The remarks reflected growing public frustration over what many viewed as double standards in Trump's deportation agenda.
According to Fox News, the petition surfaced just days after Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters, during an anti-DOGE protest in Los Angeles on March 25, suggested that Trump should investigate and potentially deport Melania Trump.
"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 was seen saying from the stage, various videos posted on social media showed, Fox News reported.
She added, "We don't know whether or not her parents were documented. And maybe we better just take a look." According to Fox News, her remarks were met with loud cheers from protestors at the rally, which focused on opposing Trump's federal government downsizing agenda.
Fox News also reported that Melania Trump, born in the former Yugoslavia, became a US citizen in 2006. She was the first US first lady to become a naturalized citizen and the second to be born outside the United States, after Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams.
In 2018, The New York Times reported that Melania sponsored her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, for green cards and later citizenship. Amalija Knavs passed away in 2024, while Viktor Knavs has been seen at recent public events with the Trump family.
Waters' comments came in response to an executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office that aimed to reinterpret the 14th Amendment and restrict birthright citizenship. The order, currently under judicial review, seeks to exclude individuals born to undocumented immigrants or parents on temporary visas from automatic US citizenship.
During the March 25 protest, Waters joined hundreds marching to the VA hospital on Los Angeles' Wilshire Boulevard. She declared, "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."
Her remarks on Melania Trump quickly spread on social media platforms like TikTok and X, drawing sharp criticism from conservatives. "Maxine Waters wants to deport Melania," posted the popular X account End Wokeness, as cited by Fox News.