Trump's Organization Sought to Hire Almost 200 Employees on Work Permits in 2025

The former president’s corporate entity accelerated its recruitment of overseas employees on short-term work permits this year, even as his government was creating barriers for other businesses wanting to do the same, an analysis released Thursday stated.

Based on information from the US Department of Labor, the business sought to bring in at least nearly 200 foreign workers in the coming year for temporary positions at the US president’s Florida property, two golf clubs and his Virginia winery.

The quantity of applications for H-2A and H-2B visas covering workers including waitstaff, office assistants, housekeepers, culinary employees and farm workers was the highest ever submitted by the organization, and up from 121 in 2021, when Trump’s first term concluded.

It was also the fifth time in 10 years that Trump had attempted to bring in more than 100 overseas workers for temporary positions at Mar-a-Lago, according to available data.

The revelation comes amid a crackdown on immigration laws by his administration that has included the implementation of a $100,000 fee on H1-B visas; extra scrutiny of the actions of the 55 million people who already hold US visas; and restrictive new rules for foreign students and journalists.

In total, the Trump Organization sought to hire 566 overseas workers over the five years Trump has been in the White House, from 2017 to 2021 and during 2025.

Significantly, the former president was criticized by certain in the Republican party this week for comments defending the need for overseas employees when a business was unable to find people with “specific talents” to occupy particular roles.

“You can’t just say a nation is entering, going to spend $10bn to build a facility, and going to take people off an unemployment line who haven’t worked in years, and they’re going to start making their missiles. It doesn’t work that well,” he stated to a interviewer after it was implied that foreign workers lower the pay of American employees.

The White House declined a inquiry for response, and the business did not provide an answer to an request for information.