Trump Approved To Hire 70 Foreign Workers At Mar-A-Lago After Applying During ‘Hire American’ Week
Donald Trump’s company now has permission to hire 70 foreign workers to serve as maids, cooks, and servers at his Mar-a-Lago resort — a request the company had initially made to the U.S. Labor Department during Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” week.
The Palm Beach, Florida, resort had applied for 70 H-2B visas back in July, making the argument that there were not enough American workers available to fill the jobs. The department has now granted the company’s request, the Palm Beach Post reported on Friday.
Trump had taken criticism for his hiring of foreign workers, especially when he has attacked other companies for expanding overseas rather than in the United States. That was a point that former opponent Marco Rubio brought up during the 2016 Republican primary, pressing Donald Trump during a debate about his company’s practice of hiring foreigners rather than Americans.
Trump defended the practice at the time, the Palm Beach Post noted.
“It’s very, very hard to get people,” Trump said. “Other hotels do the exact same thing.”
The hiring of the foreign workers is expected to take place soon, previous reports noted, and includes 15 housekeepers, 20 cooks, and 35 waiters.
There seems to be precedent in Palm Beach County to hire foreign workers, the Palm Beach Post report noted. The county’s unemployment rate is 3.6 percent, and demand for seasonal workers at the many resorts in the area is high.
But Donald Trump sparked controversy with his company’s timing, putting the request in during a week he dubbed “Buy American, Hire American.” The week was meant to promote American industries and encourage them to grow and hire within the United States.
During ‘Made in America week,’ President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club applies to hire 70 foreign workers https://t.co/ymX4eznnNn via @Fahrenthold
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 20, 2017
But Mar-a-Lago is not the only Trump property seeking to hire foreign workers rather than Americans. As the Washington Post reported, the golf course Trump owns in nearby Jupiter, Florida, also filed an application to hire six foreign workers to serve as cooks.
“The applications to the Department of Labor are a first step in the process of applying for H-2B visas, which would allow the clubs to bring in foreigners for temporary work between October and next May,” the report noted.
Donald Trump has not divested his business interest in the Trump Organization, something previous presidents have done to avoid conflicts of interest. Instead, Trump claimed that he turned over operations to his adult children, though critics say he has still failed to offer concrete proof that he is no longer involved in decision-making at the Trump Organization.
[Featured Image by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]
