Trump's Business Sought to Bring In Nearly 200 Workers on Visas in 2025
The former president’s family business increased its hiring of foreign workers on short-term work permits this period, even as his administration was placing obstacles for other businesses attempting to do the same, an analysis released Thursday stated.
Based on information from the federal labor department, the Trump Organization aimed to bring in at least nearly 200 foreign workers in the coming year for short-term roles at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort, two golf clubs and his winery in Virginia.
The number of requests for temporary work visas covering staff including waitstaff, clerks, cleaning staff, culinary employees and agricultural laborers was the record submitted by the organization, and increased from 121 in 2021, when his presidency concluded.
It was also the fifth instance in 10 years that the former president had sought to hire over a hundred overseas workers for temporary positions at Mar-a-Lago, according to available data.
The disclosure coincides with a tightening on legal immigration by his administration that has included the introduction of a $100,000 fee on H1-B visas; increased review of the actions of the 55 million people who already hold American work permits; and tighter regulations for foreign students and journalists.
In total, the business sought to hire 566 foreign laborers over the period the former president has been in the White House, from 2017 to 2021 and during the upcoming year.
Notably, the former president was criticized by some in the GOP this period for comments defending the need for foreign workers when a company was unable to find people with “specific talents” to occupy certain positions.
“You can’t just say a country is coming in, going to invest $10bn to construct a plant, and going to take people off an jobless roster who haven’t worked in years, and they’re going to start making their missiles. It doesn’t work that well,” he told a interviewer after she suggested that overseas employees undercut the wages of American employees.
The administration refused a request for response, and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
