Administration

Trump’s Florida golf club requests additional foreign workers for kitchen

The president’s Trump National Golf Club in Florida is requesting additional foreign workers for its kitchen.

President Trump’s club asked the Department of Labor for permission to hire two cooks, according to records posted by the department on Wednesday. They will make $13.31 per hour. 

Buzzfeed first reported on the filing.

The club is making the additional request after requesting permission to hire 10 foreign workers last week, Buzzfeed reported.

The request also follows several previous requests by Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property to hire foreign workers as cooks, housekeepers and waitresses. 

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Critics say it is hypocritical for Trump’s properties to rely heavily on workers from other countries, considering much of his campaign and presidency have revolved around an “America First” agenda and limiting immigration.

Trump frequently stokes anxieties over American manufacturing moving overseas and immigrants taking U.S. jobs. 

When an MSNBC political commentator in September 2015 pressed Trump over his properties’ use of foreign help, he insisted it is “very hard to get people in Florida for seasonal jobs.” 

“For about a five month period during what they call the Palm Beach Season, which is a big deal, you can’t get help,” Trump continued. “So we tend to get help from different places including Europe. And we’ve been doing that.”

“By the way, these are all legal visas,” he added.

The workers often arrive under the H-2 visa program, which gives guest workers temporary visas to work in the U.S. 

Since June 2015, businesses associated with Trump have sought to hire more than 530 foreign workers, including 280 for Mar-a-Lago and at least 40 for the Trump National Golf Club, Buzzfeed reported. 

The Trump Organization did not respond to Buzzfeed’s request for comment.

Proposed hourly salaries for the workers start at $10.68 for housekeepers, $13.31 for cooks and $12.68 for waiters, according to the report.