PUBLISHED TO
We’re now entering the third major election cycle where Donald Trump
is yet again casting undocumented immigrants as scary, shadowy figures
in order to win votes. But in reality, he’s had undocumented immigrants cleaning his home and catering to his family’s needs, those very workers said at a press conference in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, where he’s set to kick off his 2020 reelection campaign.
“We’re here … to tell the truth,” said Sandra Diaz, a former housekeeper who worked at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort from 2010 to 2013. While she now has legal status, she was undocumented during the time she worked at Bedminster. During the press conference, which also featured Unite Here union members and faith leaders, Diaz said she wasn’t alone. “He, for a long time, has had undocumented people” working for him, she continued. “He still has them.”
The Trump Organization’s exploitation of undocumented workers has far stretched beyond his numerous courses to his Virginia winery, as well. “Univision News interviewed seven undocumented employees who claim to have worked producing Trump wine in the state of Virginia, putting in long hours from sunrise to sunset, without overtime pay,” the outlet reported last month.
Anibal Romero, an attorney who represents Diaz and dozens of other former Trump workers in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, called out the Trump family’s hypocrisy of falsely claiming immigrants are dangerous while also having them wash their laundry. “The president had them working in his house for so long,” he said. What’s clear is how immigrants keep industries and businesses running, even those belonging to someone as anti-immigrant as Trump. These workers need legal status.
But it goes far beyond hypocrisy, because what the Trump Organization has carried out would have gotten plenty of other employers who aren’t the president of the United States in trouble and the subject of federal investigations, said attorney David Leopold. Workers have said that management not only knew many of them lacked legal status, but even helped some procure false documents. Others have alleged being abused, both verbally and physically.
“We’re here … to tell the truth,” said Sandra Diaz, a former housekeeper who worked at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort from 2010 to 2013. While she now has legal status, she was undocumented during the time she worked at Bedminster. During the press conference, which also featured Unite Here union members and faith leaders, Diaz said she wasn’t alone. “He, for a long time, has had undocumented people” working for him, she continued. “He still has them.”
The Trump Organization’s exploitation of undocumented workers has far stretched beyond his numerous courses to his Virginia winery, as well. “Univision News interviewed seven undocumented employees who claim to have worked producing Trump wine in the state of Virginia, putting in long hours from sunrise to sunset, without overtime pay,” the outlet reported last month.
Anibal Romero, an attorney who represents Diaz and dozens of other former Trump workers in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, called out the Trump family’s hypocrisy of falsely claiming immigrants are dangerous while also having them wash their laundry. “The president had them working in his house for so long,” he said. What’s clear is how immigrants keep industries and businesses running, even those belonging to someone as anti-immigrant as Trump. These workers need legal status.
But it goes far beyond hypocrisy, because what the Trump Organization has carried out would have gotten plenty of other employers who aren’t the president of the United States in trouble and the subject of federal investigations, said attorney David Leopold. Workers have said that management not only knew many of them lacked legal status, but even helped some procure false documents. Others have alleged being abused, both verbally and physically.
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