First lady Melania Trump’s own immigration attorney is speaking out about President Trump's immigration policies.
First lady Melania Trump’s own immigration attorney is speaking out about President Trump's immigration policies.
During an interview with Salon’s Carrie Sheffield, Michael Wildes said, “...if we fix our broken immigration system, not just by building a...screwed-up wall, but we fix the innards of the United States also and we do this in comprehensive fashion...the thesis of which is our homeland is still at risk because of the 11 million people here.”
Wildes then admitted to changing his mind about issuing licenses to foreign nationals; he was at first opposed to giving such lawbreakers the privilege to drive but then realized how beneficial such ID cards could be in terms of practical matters like tracking and insurance coverage.
That said, Wildes told Sheffield that “hardened criminals should not remain in the United States.”
However, he expressed reservations about the Trump administration’s expansion of crimes that can get a person deported, saying, “There is less crime from the immigrant community then there are from the American community...to go into the DUI’s to lower the threshold so that any crime is now a removal offense, is offensive.”
This isn’t the first time that Wildes, a former mayor who backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, has criticized Trump’s policies, notes The Independent.
In late January, he responded to the president’s controversial travel ban by saying, “How can we turn our backs on these individuals?...This is not the way you deal with people's lives.”
He also reportedly represented foreign-born U.S. residents who feared that they would not be allowed to re-enter the country if they left.
During the campaign, Wildes defended Melania Trump over allegations that she modeled in the U.S without legal authorization.