Trump Organization Sought to Hire Nearly 200 Workers on Work Permits in 2025
The former president’s family business increased its hiring of foreign workers on short-term work permits this period, while his government was creating barriers for other companies attempting to do the same, a report released Thursday stated.
Based on information from the US Department of Labor, the business sought to hire at least 184 overseas employees in 2025 for temporary positions at the former president’s Florida property, golf facilities and his winery in Virginia.
The quantity of requests for temporary work visas covering staff including waitstaff, office assistants, cleaning staff, culinary employees and farm workers was the record submitted by the organization, and up from over 120 in the previous term, when his presidency concluded.
It was also the fifth time in 10 years that Trump had attempted to hire more than 100 overseas workers for temporary positions at Mar-a-Lago, according to available data.
The revelation comes amid a tightening on immigration laws by his administration that has included the implementation of a $100,000 fee on skilled worker visas; increased review of the activities of the millions of people who already hold US visas; and restrictive new rules for foreign students and reporters.
In total, the business sought to employ over 560 foreign laborers over the five years the former president has been in the White House, from 2017 to 2021 and during 2025.
Significantly, the former president was criticized by certain in the GOP this period for remarks defending the necessity for overseas employees when a company was unable to find people with “specific talents” to fill certain positions.
“You cannot just say a country is entering, going to invest $10bn to construct a facility, and going to recruit individuals off an unemployment line who haven’t worked in five years, and they’re going to start making their defense systems. It doesn’t work that effectively,” he told a interviewer after it was implied that overseas employees undercut the wages of American employees.
The White House declined a request for response, and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
