President Donald Trump is trying to appease his conservative supporters with a tough new immigrant test. The only problem is that Donald’s own wife, Melania Trump , wouldn’t make it into the country under the proposed law.
According to Independent , reporter Julia Ioffe has taken a hard line against Donald’s immigrant test and says that he is only pandering to his followers. She also thinks his supporters don’t care about Melania’s status because she is a white woman from a European country. Melania first came to the U.S. on an H-1B visa, which would be restricted under Donald’s new plan.
The immigrant test is based on a points system intended to curb a number of immigrants allowed into the U.S. every year. Along with having the wrong type of visa, Melania would also be hurt by the fact that she doesn’t have a college degree.
“It’s interesting because Melania Trump was here originally on a H-1B visa, when in fact she worked illegally under a tourist visa first,” Ioffe explained. “She doesn’t have a college degree, you know. I don’t know how she would have done under this points system. I didn’t speak English when I immigrated to the United States. Now, I get paid to write in it.”
According to CNN , the plan is called the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act and would reduce green card allotment by as much as fifty percent . It is also going to replace the current system, which is largely based on merit. The grading system takes a number of different factors into account, including education, languages, age, and high-earning job offers.
Ioffe is a Russian immigrant who moved to the U.S. in 1990. She was only seven when her parents left Russia, and her family probably wouldn’t have been allowed in under the new guidelines. Despite not knowing how to speak English, Ioffe learned the language and now works as a journalist for The Atlantic .
This is what I was referring to on @FareedZakaria ‘s show: https://t.co/bEAFx9ifdI
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) August 7, 2017
In addition to the immigration restriction, Ioffe also spoke out against Donald’s tough stance on refugees. Ioffe was particularly miffed by how Donald isn’t allowing more refugees in the U.S., yet his administration also isn’t helping countries in need. By following this strategy, the Trump administration is actually creating more refugees, many of whom have nowhere to turn.
“Especially if you’re pursuing a kind of isolationist foreign policy and you’re not going out into the world and trying to help these countries fix the situations they’re in so that they’re not creating these massive refugees flows,” she stated.
However, it might be a long time before the bill gets to the president’s desk. Congress is currently examining a litany of new proposals, including tax reform, health care, budget, and the changing the debt ceiling.
Tell us! Are you enjoying the irony that Melania Trump would not be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. under President Trump’s proposed test? Let us know in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
