FBI Investigates Reports of Undocumented Immigrant Employees at Trump Golf Club

Although Mexican food comprises 42% of the nation’s share of ethnic food sales, some Americans aren’t exactly outspoken fans of imports (or immigrants) from south of the border. And while the president recently caused a government shutdown over a failure to obtain approval for border wall spending, it seems the Trump name may once again be sullied with reports of employing undocumented workers — this time, at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

There are beautiful golf courses all over the world. Providenciales has a golf course that’s ranked as being one of the top 10 best Caribbean golf courses by “Caribbean Travel & Life.” And Donald Trump owns one of the most popular across the United States.

Despite the president’s well-known stance on allowing undocumented (and even legal) immigrants into the United States, he has been accused of employing undocumented immigrants in the past. According to the Washington Post, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club regularly hires undocumented immigrants to work as cooks and housekeepers and seemingly wants to appeal to non-citizens by requiring job seekers to express their interest via mail or fax only, rather than through online means or by making inquiries in-person. An investigation conducted by Mother Jones found that Trump Model Management brought foreign models into the United States to work, despite the fact that they were only admitted into the country on tourist visas. Former models have expressed that the agency encouraged them to deceive customs officials and lie on customs forms in order to be admitted; the models reportedly received treatment akin to “modern-day slavery.” In addition, Trump Tower was built in part by undocumented Polish workers who actually had to file a lawsuit in order to receive the wages they were owed.

With all that in mind, it’s not so surprising that more undocumented immigrants are coming forward to tell their stories pertaining to their employment at the golf club in the Garden State. Around 13.12% of survey respondents aged 18 to 29 said they played golf in 2018, but the sport is certainly one of the president’s favorites, as is clear from the unconfirmed claim that Trump has spent anywhere from 59 to 123 days playing golf during the course of his presidency. The National Safety Council states that archery is more than three times safer than golf, a fact that might very well be true when it comes to both physical injuries and criminal investigations conducted by federal agencies.

Anibal Romero, a Newark-based attorney who currently represents five undocumented immigrants who claim to have worked at the Trump National Golf Club, stated in media interviews that he has met with both state and federal investigators to discuss the allegation that the organization knowingly employed workers who are not legally authorized to reside in the United States. He has reason to believe the club still employs workers who are undocumented, making the president’s harmful rhetoric seem increasingly hypocritical. Even more serious is the accusation that one of the golf club supervisors actually provided fake green cards and Social Security numbers to these employees. The FBI has collected these materials and reports are swirling that bureau may launch an investigation into the club’s hiring practices.

There are also reports that some of the undocumented immigrants in question were subjected to racially charged harassment and threats from their supervisors. Other claims say that Trump and his staff may have shielded undocumented workers from Secret Service clearance checks during the now-president’s campaign to win the White House.

According to U.S. Census reports, Spanish is the second most-spoken language in the world. And while these immigrants have come to America from all over the globe, the one thing they do share is their fear of the president’s words and actions. In fact, when two of the women represented by Romero — Victoria Morales and Sandra Diaz — spoke to the New York Times last month, Diaz noted her reasons for coming forward: “We are tired of the abuse, the insults, the way he talks about us when he knows we are here helping him make money. We sweat it out to attend to his every need and have to put up with his humiliation.”