Former US first lady, Melania Trump gave an emotional speech on Friday December 15, about her experience with becoming a US citizen and the challenges she faced going through a complicated legal system as she made a rare public appearance during a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in Washington.

The former first lady applauded the 25 immigrants sitting before her about to be sworn in as US citizens and outlined the many hurdles immigrants have to overcome to secure citizenship. She made no mention of her husband, former President Donald Trump, who has pledged to restrict both legal and illegal immigration.

“My personal experience of traversing the challenges of the immigration process opened my eyes to the harsh realities people face, including you, who try to become US citizens,” the Slovenian-born Melania Trump said.

The former first lady who became a US citizen in 2006, described the difficulties of trying to familiarize herself with immigration law, conducting research and painstakingly gathering information and paperwork.

“The pathway to citizenship is arduous,” she said, adding that during that time, “My life turned into labyrinth of organizing paperwork.”

Melania Trump, who is only the second foreign-born first lady, spoke with US Archivist Colleen Shogan during her visit Friday. Shogan had personally invited the former first lady to speak at the ceremony, a spokesperson for the National Archives told CNN. The two women met while Shogan was at the White House Historical Association during Melania Trump’s tenure as first lady and worked together on a number of projects.

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BREAKING: Former First Lady Melania Trump (@MELANIATRUMP) discloses that she felt “a tremendous sense of pride and belonging” after reciting the United States Oath of Allegiance, noting that “the pathway to (American) citizenship is arduous.” WATCH pic.twitter.com/b6Pdf2QMuE

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) December 15, 2023