GUEST POST BY DAVE MILLER

 

Faith, Family, and Immigration Double Standards

Facts… The Trump administration and several allies in Congress have called for ending or restricting birthright citizenship, despite the 14th Amendment’s long-standing interpretation by courts as guaranteeing citizenship to nearly all people born on U.S. soil. Supporters argue—contrary to settled precedent—that the Constitution allows exceptions for children of undocumented immigrants.

President Trump has framed immigration as an existential threat, warning that the nation cannot survive if children born to undocumented immigrants become citizens. He has also spoken with open contempt about immigrants from certain regions, referring to some countries as “shithole countries” and questioning why the United States should accept people from them.

A significant share of Trump’s most loyal political support comes from self-identified Christians, particularly white evangelicals. Also part of this coalition are Catholics, Mormons and Jews.

At the same time, Trump has used language claiming immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country and has portrayed outsiders as a danger to America’s identity. That rhetoric echoes America’s nativist past and poses a profound moral challenge for people of faith who profess commitments to human dignity and love of neighbor.

Now consider… Melania Trump, born Melania Knauss, first entered the United States on a visitor visa, which generally does not allow paid employment. Reporting later showed she earned money from modeling shortly after arriving, before obtaining a work-authorized visa. While her representatives deny any wrongdoing, critics have pointed to her case as an example of how immigration rules can be applied unevenly.

Melania later received permanent residency through the EB-1 “extraordinary ability” visa category, often associated with elite scientists.

The Trump administration, ICE and MAGA supporters have argued that immigrants who violate visa conditions or enter under false pretenses should face removal, and have questioned birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, calling them “anchor babies”.

The parents of Usha Vance immigrated to the United States under legal pathways expanded after 1965—pathways that the Trump administration and allies like Vice President JD Vance have repeatedly criticized and sought to restrict. JD Vance’s marriage to a woman of color who practices a different religion has drawn criticism from the fringes of the MAGA right. Many evangelical churches teach the biblical call to avoid being unequally yoked, instructing believers not to marry outside the faith, and some far-right interpreters, who are MAGA supporters, extend this principle to race and ethnicity.

Bottom line… There is a well-documented impression, based on public actions, statements, and policies, that President Trump, Vice President Vance, and their administration are hostile to immigrants. Yet many of the policies they promote stand in stark contrast to their personal lived experiences, which include close family ties to immigrants and communities that their rhetoric and proposals often portray as threats.

This is what most people would call hypocrisy.