As Trump Pursues Mass Deportation, His Businesses Again Seek Foreign Workers
Source: CREW, Robert Maguire
Photo: Miru Osuga/CREW
This article was originally published on April 14, 2025. We also asked ChatGPT (not the author) if the Trump Organization used undocumented workers at its construction sites and properties. ChatGPT’s response appears at the end of this article. It appears Trump’s hypocrisy is alive and well.
While President Donald Trump and his administration reiterate the need to “hire American” and crack down on both documented and undocumented immigrants alike, his company is again seeking seasonal foreign workers for one of the luxury resorts he still profits from as president. The request from Trump’s business comes days after his administration released a raft of new seasonal work visas, fulfilling a request from a group that held a fundraiser at another Trump resort less than two weeks earlier.
The timeline demonstrates how Trump’s company benefits from special interest spending aimed at influencing his administration, while it also takes advantage of his administration’s policies.
The New York Times recently reported that industry lobbyists anxious about the Trump administration’s delayed release of a new batch of H-2B visas, which allow foreign workers to do seasonal work in the United States, held a fundraiser last month at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Less than two weeks later, the Trump administration announced that the visas would continue to be issued.
On the same day the fundraiser was reported by the Times—just five days after the administration released the new visa spots—President Trump’s Bedminster, N.J. country club filed a request with the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification, seeking seven cooks and a bartender. Two days after that, it posted positions for nine servers.
The job openings mark the first time in Trump’s second term that his business has sought to hire new foreign workers—though there are listings for open positions at Trump’s Virginia winery that were posted last December.
The announcement for the event, held by the Seasonal Employment Alliance’s PAC, highlighted the intentional choice of Mar-a-Lago as a venue and framed Trump’s businesses as an avenue for influence with the new administration. “Given Trump’s victory,” the release states, “the Mar-a-Lago event calendar is full, and we were very fortunate to have secured a spot on their calendar, especially a night where there is a decent chance President Trump will be there.” It notes that the “exclusive opportunity for SEA members” was “due to the generosity of SEA board member and Mar-a-Lago member Peter Petrina.” (In addition to being a paying customer at Trump’s club, Petrina has contracted with the Trump Organization in the past to recruit foreign workers for its properties.)
The invitation for the fundraiser notes opportunities for members to stay at Mar-a-Lago and play golf at Trump’s nearby course—both of which sold out. And if that didn’t offer members enough opportunities to spend money at Trump’s businesses, the invitation notes that they can head to another Trump property an hour away, Trump Doral in Miami, and take advantage of special rates for two more nights.
And this interplay between special interests and Trump’s own business interests was all too predictable. Not only does the Trump Organization have a history of hiring undocumented immigrant and passing over American applicants for foreign workers, it also has a history of using legal pathways for foreign seasonal workers like this, which he now oversees as president. In 2020, CREW detailed how Trump’s businesses benefitted from the actions taken by his administration, including the H-2B visas that provide his business the opportunity to hire the foreign workers he has built a political career on vilifying.
Pouring money into the president’s businesses with the hope of getting face time with the president—all while his businesses take advantage of his administration’s policies—is one of the clearest demonstrations of the corruption that has been at the core of Trump’s public service career.
Last year, Trump’s businesses reportedly sought to hire more foreign workers than any prior year on record, and the new data shows that his businesses will continue to seek foreign workers while he is president, one of the very groups of people that he has publicly disparaged for years.
Here is what ChatGPT had to say about the Trump Organization’s hiring practices:
Yes — there is a documented record that the Trump Organization did employ undocumented workers at various times and places, despite public statements by Donald Trump and company representatives denying or minimizing it. The details are based on multiple news investigations and legal records:
Investigated Instances of Undocumented Workers
1. Golf Clubs and Resorts (2010s)
Investigations by The Washington Post and others found that undocumented immigrants worked for years in jobs like housekeeping, groundskeeping, and food service at multiple Trump Organization properties, including golf clubs in New York, New Jersey, Florida, and other locations. Some workers said they started years earlier and believed managers knew they lacked legal work authorization. After these reports, the company fired dozens of such workers and later expanded its use of the E-Verify system to check new hires.
2. Westchester and New Jersey Clubs
At Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, NY, and in Bedminster, NJ, workers alleged they were hired despite being undocumented; in some cases, supervisors reportedly helped workers obtain fake Social Security cards and green cards.
3. 1980 Trump Tower Site
During the demolition of the Bonwit Teller building (pre-Trump Tower), hundreds of undocumented Polish laborers worked on the site. Trump later denied knowing about this, but testimony and legal filings indicated his team was aware. A lawsuit over this labor dispute was settled in 1998 for approximately $1.4 million.
Company Response vs. Allegations
Official Denials: Trump and his spokespeople have denied knowingly hiring undocumented workers and noted the use of E-Verify at many properties.
Investigative Findings: Journalistic investigations documented multiple cases where undocumented workers were employed for long periods, often before broader use of verification systems.
Legal and Public Reaction
Settlements & Lawsuits: The Bonwit Teller/Polish workers case resulted in a long-settled suit; there haven’t been major criminal penalties tied directly to these employment practices.
Political Scrutiny: Members of Congress and advocacy groups have called for investigations into these alleged hiring practices.
Summary
Yes, according to multiple credible investigations and legal records, the Trump Organization employed undocumented workers at various properties over the years — including in housekeeping, groundskeeping, and other roles — even while company leaders publicly denied or disputed these practices.