First lady Melania Trump’s former immigration lawyer on Wednesday weighed in on a Republican effort to eliminate dual citizenship, questioning the merits of a bill that could affect millions of Americans.
Attorney Michael Wildes represented Trump’s parents in helping the Slovenian-born family obtain U.S. citizenship. The first lady and the only child she shares with President Donald Trump, Barron Trump, appear to remain dual citizens of the United States and Slovenia, meaning they could face consequences should Sen. Bernie Moreno’s (R-OH) Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025, which the GOP lawmaker introduced on Monday, advance.
If passed, a U.S. citizen who voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship would have to relinquish their U.S. citizenship after the date of enactment if they choose to remain a citizen of the other country. Those who possess dual citizenship would have to submit a written renunciation of foreign citizenship to the secretary of state or a written renunciation of U.S. citizenship to the secretary of homeland security, no later than one year after the enactment of the act.
“One of the greatest honors of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so,” said Moreno, who is an immigrant from Colombia. “It was an honor to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and ONLY to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing.”
This week, Wildes criticized what he described as gaps in the bill’s logic during an interview with Newsweek, noting that it “does not address the large population of Americans who are born dual citizens or multinationals.” He also expressed concern that it undermines centuries of precedent, while unnecessarily targeting military personnel who have taken advantage of provisions allowing for dual citizenship.
“The United States is one of many countries that permits its citizens to hold dual nationality, whether acquired by the wonderful choice to naturalize or by virtue of birth,” the lawyer said.
“Our founding parents and many of our first presidents were dual nationals of both the United States and other countries—including our then-enemy, Great Britain,” he continued, adding that “America’s military presence abroad results in American citizens born overseas who are eligible for both U.S. and foreign citizenships.”
“To claim that our military personnel are not loyal simply because they are not U.S. citizens, or that dual nationals cannot devote their full service to this country, is preposterous,” Wildes added.
Wildes has been described as a lifelong Democrat. While he has criticized Donald Trump’s immigration policies, the attorney has consistently risen to the first lady’s defense on a personal level, including when she faced allegations in 2016 of abusing the immigration process.
“It has been suggested by various media outlets that in 1995, Mrs. Trump illegally worked as a model in the United States while on a visitor visa,” Wildes wrote in a letter posted by Melania Trump during her husband’s first presidential campaign.
“Following a review of her relevant immigration paperwork, I can unequivocally state that these allegations are not supported by the record, and are therefore completely without merit,” he added. Wildes later confirmed he had led successful efforts to help the first lady’s parents become U.S. citizens.
“In Melania Trump’s case, it took years for her to become an American citizen, then years for her to petition for her family, and they went through the process, passing all of the American citizenship questions and everything just like any other person,” he told The Hill in 2018.
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During a 2020 speech at the Republican National Convention, Melania Trump described becoming a U.S. citizen in 2006 “after 10 years of paperwork” as “one of the proudest moments in my life.”
“As an immigrant and a very independent woman, I understand what a privilege it is to live here and to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that we have,” she said. “Growing up as a young child in Slovenia, which was under communist rule at the time, I always heard about an amazing place called America — a land that stood for freedom and opportunity.… As first lady, I have been fortunate to see the American dream come true over and over again.”
