Strong: Benefiting or poisoning America?

“Illegal immigration is poisoning the blood of our nation. They’re coming from prisons, from mental institutions — from all over the world.” 

— Donald Trump, Truth Social, Dec. 16, 2023.

Since 1607, with the Jamestown colony in Virginia, immigrants have been coming to North America. Over half of these immigrants came as indentured servants. To pay for their passage, they would contract to serve someone for a set amount of time. At the end of the set time, the indentured servant was free to go their own way. There were very few requirements for immigrating into the colonies, if someone could pay their way.

The American Revolution curtailed immigration severely. When America gained its independence, immigration resumed and immigrants were welcome. Rules for entry, usually quite simple, were determined by individual states.

One family who owes its success to immigration is the Trump family. In 1902, Friedrich Trump, a German citizen and Donald Trump’s grandfather, married Elizabeth Christ in Germany. They moved to New York, then back to Germany in 1904. In 1905, they were kicked out since Friedrich had dodged the German draft. They returned to New York on July 1, 1905.

Their son, Frederick Christ Trump, Donald Trump’s father, was born on Oct. 11, 1905. He was an anchor baby – conceived in Germany, born in America. The family, including Fred’s sister and brother, moved to Queens, New York, in 1908.

On May 10, 1912, in Scotland, a baby girl, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born. In 1930, she emigrated to New York with $50. The concept of “illegal immigration” didn’t exist at that time. If an immigrant had at least $30 and could show they had no communicable diseases, they were in. Ms. MacLeod began working as a domestic servant.

A few years later, MacLeod met Fred Trump. They married in January 1936 and began their family, five children, including future President Donald Trump. They were living the American Dream.

In 1976, Donald Trump met Ivana Zelníčková, born in the former Czechoslovakia. Ivana was able to leave Czechoslovakia by marrying an Austrian ski instructor. Once free of Communist Czechoslovakia, Ivana divorced her husband and moved to Canada.

Ivana met Trump while she was working as a model. They were married on April 9, 1977. They had three children together, first generation Americans on their mother’s side. Ivana became an American citizen in 1988. She and Trump divorced in 1990.

Trump’s second wife, Marla Maples, was an American by birth. His third wife, Melania Knauss, was born in the former Yugoslavia. Melania moved to New York City in 1996. Her travel visa did not allow her to work in the U.S., but she did anyway, accepting 10 modeling jobs, earning $20,000.

This violation could have resulted in her deportation, since she was working illegally. However, she finally received a work visa and ultimately a green card in 2001. She had met Donald Trump in 1998 and they were married in 2005. Trump promised a press conference to discuss the legality of Melania’s U.S. residence. That press conference never happened.

Their son Barron was born in 2006, a first-generation American on his mother’s side. That same year, Melania became an American citizen. She then sponsored her parents using “Chain Migration,” a process Trump has since condemned.

Trump’s family – grandparents, father, mother, two wives, in-laws, and four of his children – was built on immigration. You’d think he’d be grateful for the immigration process and how it benefited his family. Instead, he wants to restrict immigration even more. Why?

Our immigration system has been chaotic, confusing and broken for decades. In 2013, a bipartisan immigration bill, including border security measures, was passed in the U.S. Senate. In 2014, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, refused a vote on the bill, so it died.

On Feb. 4, the Senate passed another bipartisan immigration bill, including border security. Once again, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, R-La., refused to allow a vote, on orders from Trump.

Trump claims that a border wall will solve our immigration problems. It won’t. It will take legislation to make the immigration laws more understandable, streamlined and fair. Republicans have proven they are uninterested in passing such legislation. They prefer the chaos.

Immigration benefits our country. We need to fix our broken system so we can provide the workers our country requires and offer refuge to those who need it. I’m sure Trump believes his family has benefited our country. We must give other families that same opportunity.

Jeanette Strong, whose column appears every other week, is a Nevada Press Foundation award-winning columnist. She may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.