Trump Organization Sought to Hire Nearly 200 Workers on Visas in 2025
Donald Trump’s family business increased its hiring of overseas employees on temporary visas this year, even as his government was placing obstacles for other businesses wanting to do the same, an analysis released Thursday stated.
Based on information from the US Department of Labor, the Trump Organization aimed to bring in at least 184 foreign workers in 2025 for short-term roles at the former president’s Florida property, two golf clubs and his Virginia winery.
The number of applications for H-2A and H-2B visas covering staff including waitstaff, office assistants, cleaning staff, culinary employees and farm workers was the record filed by the organization, and increased from over 120 in the previous term, when his presidency ended.
It was also the fifth instance in a decade that Trump had attempted to hire more than 100 foreign employees for seasonal jobs at his Florida resort, according to labor statistics.
The revelation coincides with a crackdown on immigration laws by his government that has included the implementation of a $100,000 fee on skilled worker visas; extra scrutiny of the activities of the millions of people who possess American work permits; and tighter regulations for international scholars and journalists.
In total, the Trump Organization sought to employ 566 foreign laborers over the period the former president has been in the presidency, from 2017 to 2021 and during the upcoming year.
Significantly, Trump was criticized by some in the Republican party this period for comments defending the necessity for overseas employees when a business was unable to find people with “specific talents” to fill particular roles.
“You can’t just say a nation is coming in, going to spend billions to construct a plant, and going to take people off an jobless roster who have been unemployed in years, and they’re going to start producing their defense systems. It isn’t feasible that well,” he told a interviewer after it was implied that overseas employees undercut the pay of American employees.
The administration refused a request for response, and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an inquiry.