An Undocumented Immigrant Has Been Making Trump’s Bed for Years
Credit to Author: Drew Schwartz| Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2018 22:59:06 +0000
Donald Trump’s candidacy and presidency has in large part been premised on his hostility to immigrants and refugees, whom he’s tried to crack down on in more ways than you can count. He’s slandered people who come to the US illegally as “rapists” and “animals,” and fought to keep them out of the workforce—all while employing undocumented immigrants at his golf club in New Jersey for years, the New York Times reports.
On Thursday, two women hired by Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster revealed they’re part of “a number of undocumented workers” there who help out with housekeeping, landscaping, and maintenance, the Times reports. The two women apparently spent years cleaning Trump’s private villa on the property. Victorina Morales, who’s worked at Trump National for five years, told the Times she’s made Trump’s bed and cleaned his toilet. Sandra Diaz, who worked there from 2010 to 2013, told the Times she’s washed his boxers, ironed his golf shirts, and cleaned his sheets. Morales reportedly came home “jubilant” when Trump complimented her or gave her a $50 or $100 tip.
The Trump Organization didn’t comment on either woman specifically, but said it had “strict hiring practices” in place at properties like Trump National.
“If an employee submitted false documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately,” Amanda Miller, the Trump Organization’s senior VP for marketing and corporate communications, told the Times.
But according to Diaz and Morales, managers at Trump National helped them figure out a way to work there without legit documentation. In one instance, Morales said, a manager loaned her $165 so she could afford to pay for a falsified Social Security card and green card.
A document-checking system known as E-Verify would make it more difficult for employers to hire undocumented workers like Morales. But though some immigration restrictionists have pushed for it, Trump and some other GOP leaders haven’t advocated especially strongly for it. The Times reported that the Bedminster club was not on a federal list of employers who use E-Verify.
Diaz, who’s now a legal US resident, and Morales, who’s still undocumented, said they came forward because they’ve grown increasingly angry about Trump’s rhetoric around immigrants—even though, for Morales, speaking out will probably cost her a job, and could put her at risk of deportation.
“We are tired of the abuse, the insults, the way he talks about us when he knows that we are here helping him make money,” Morales told the Times. “We sweat it out to attend to his every need and have to put up with his humiliation.”
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This article originally appeared on VICE US.