Former Undocumented Workers Expose Trump’s Hypocrisy on Immigration

Over four years ago, President Trump launched his campaign and talked about building a wall and deporting undocumented immigrants. Well, most are still here; many who have been working for our hypocritical president.

While Trump was spreading lies about immigrants and ripping children away from their parents, he was profiting from undocumented immigrants who were cleaning his home, washing his clothes, and cooking meals for his family and friends.  That is until they became a political inconvenience.

Amid a partial government shutdown earlier this year, the media started reporting that Trump’s properties have been relying on labor from undocumented immigrants. Shortly after that, around a dozen people were fired, despite working years at one of Trump’s golf clubs. Others were fired after speaking out about their experiences working at the clubs. Why?

According to the fired workers, their fraudulent papers were knowingly accepted by the Trump organization when they were hired. Additionally, despite years of service, they were never offered the benefits or health insurance that their documented co-workers were offered. Workers with legal status received better raises and promotions—such disparities were widely known around the clubs.

Over two dozen of the fired workers are being represented by an attorney, who says he has contacted the New York and New Jersey Attorney General offices to discuss the allegations. To date, no formal investigation has been opened. The Trump Organization denies knowledge of the workers’ illegal status.

Several of these former employees spoke out in a press conference before Trump’s 2020 kick-off campaign in Orlando to shed light on the “hypocrisy and cruelty” of Trump and his attacks on immigrants. They also demanded immigration reform for millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. “No one knows better than Trump himself that immigrants are hardworking individuals who support a multitude of industries across the country, including his restaurants, golf courses, wineries, and hotels,” said the attorney. “And no one knows better than the undocumented workers who worked for Trump, how urgent it is for Congress to pass humane and sensible immigration laws so that immigrants can continue contributing to their communities and to our nation, just like they did for Trump and his family.”

Once again, it is abundantly clear that President Trump is happy to entertain ‘illegals,’ as long as he is the direct beneficiary of their labor.

As of 2017, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates that there are 12.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. The vast majority came to this country to pursue a better life – to escape war, poverty, and/or religious persecution. For all intents and purposes, once they cross the border, they plan to stay and obey our laws. They seek legal status, citizenship, and the full rights and freedoms that all Americans enjoy. Unfortunately, that isn’t usually an option, even for those who have lived in this country for decades. Despite working hard, paid taxing taxes, and contributing to their community, these immigrants are being denied the rights under which this country was founded. A growing number, with no criminal background, have been deported or face deportation, unless, of course, they worked for Trump. Even as the president was leaving the White House for Florida, he declared that a mass roundup of undocumented immigrants would start next week. His declaration is not only despicable, it is laughable, as it is virtually impossible to remove 12.5 million people.

Our immigration system is broken; laws are rigid, outdated, and need an overhaul. It is time for Congress to take decisive actions and find a real, bi-partisan solution to this important social justice issue. It is also high time for our president to stop using hardworking immigrants to score points with his so-called base. Human beings should not be subjected to physical, emotional, and financial pain for this man’s quest for glory and political gain.