Trump's Business Attempted to Hire Almost 200 Employees on Visas in 2025
Donald Trump’s corporate entity increased its recruitment of overseas employees on short-term work permits this period, while his administration was placing obstacles for other businesses wanting to do the same, a report published Thursday claimed.
According to data from the US Department of Labor, the business sought to hire at least 184 foreign workers in the coming year for short-term roles at the former president’s Florida property, two golf clubs and his Virginia winery.
The number of applications for temporary work visas covering staff including waitstaff, clerks, housekeepers, culinary employees and agricultural laborers was the record submitted by the company, and increased from 121 in 2021, when his presidency ended.
It was also the fifth instance in a decade that the former president had sought to bring in more than 100 overseas workers for seasonal jobs at Mar-a-Lago, according to labor statistics.
The disclosure comes amid a crackdown on legal immigration by his administration that has included the introduction of a substantial charge on skilled worker visas; extra scrutiny of the actions of the millions of people who already hold US visas; and restrictive new rules for foreign students and reporters.
Overall, the Trump Organization sought to hire over 560 overseas workers over the period the former president has been in the White House, from his first term and during 2025.
Notably, the former president was criticized by some in the GOP this period for remarks defending the necessity for foreign workers when a company was unable to find people with “particular skills” to fill particular roles.
“You can’t just say a nation is entering, going to invest $10bn to build a plant, and going to recruit individuals off an jobless roster 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 pay of American employees.
The administration refused a request for comment, and the business did not provide an answer to an inquiry.