Former NCAA swimmer and conservative activist Riley Gaines has opened up on the reason her husband has been unable to obtain a green card.

Gaines tied the knot with British swimmer Louis Barker in 2022 after the couple met while both swimming for the University of Kentucky in 2019.

Yet, despite being married for two and a half years, Gaines, who has spoken out on a number of political issues in recent years, revealed that her partner still hadn’t been granted a green card due to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Gaines, who has been outspoken against trans athletes competing in women’s sports, took to social media to share that immigration services had notified Barker that they required evidence of a completed vaccination record.

She explained that the vaccination missing from the required list was the one for Covid-19.

‘Yes you heard that right. In the year 2024 you have to have the under-researched, ineffective Covid vaccine to enter into this country legally,’ Gaines said in a video shared to social media.

Riley Gaines opened up on husband Louis Barker, a British national’s, green card struggles

‘Notice I said legally, because our government does not require illegal immigrants to have the Covid vaccine.

‘Really think about that. Think about how hard our government has made it for people migrating into this country legally in comparison to those who break the law. Because if you just walk across the southern border, you’re given housing, a driver’s license, money.

‘[…] Even still, it’s a decision my husband would make ten days out of ten. What good is a green card with compromised health. When this craziness inevitably ends, because it will, my husband will become a citizen and have a functioning immune system. It’s a win-win.’

Gaines’s fury earned her the support of Elon Musk, president-elect Donald Trump’s nomination for co-leader of Department of Government Efficiency, who reposted her video on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

‘Legal immigration to America is ridiculously slow & difficult, even for super talented people. Needs to be fixed,’ Musk wrote alongside the clip.

Earlier this year, Gaines backed the Tesla founder’s calls for faster legal avenues for immigration.

The tech billionaire said his frequent complaints about the migrant crisis led to him being accused of being ‘anti-immigrant’.

However, he explained that as an immigrant himself – being born in South Africa and moving to the US for university – ‘nothing could be further from the truth’.

Elon Musk, pictured with Donald Trump, spoke out in support of the former NCAA swimmer

‘I am very much in favor of increased and expedited legal immigration for anyone who is talented, hard-working and honest,’ he wrote on Twitter.

‘It is bizarrely difficult and agonizingly slow to immigrate to the USA legally, but trivial and fast to enter illegally! This obviously makes no sense.’

Musk moved to Canada aged 18 and got citizenship there via his mother, and a few years later studied at the University of Pennsylvania, then came to Silicon Valley.

Gaines reposted Musk’s tweet with enthusiastic agreement, again regaling her followers with her husband’s plight.