Trump Organization fires more undocumented workers
The Trump Organization has fired more undocumented employees at properties including the Trump Winery in Virginia just before the end of the year, attorneys advising and representing recently fired staffers told CBS News. The firings come nearly a year after a purge of undocumented staffers at Trump golf clubs.
The firings at Trump Organization properties were first reported by The Washington Post. Trump Organization and Trump Winery did not respond to a request for comment by CBS News.
Civil rights lawyer Anibal Romero, who represents many of the undocumented workers fired by the Trump Organization in the last year, condemned the Trump Organization's treatment of its undocumented employees in a statement to CBS News.
"The Trump brand is built on cruelty. He separates kids from parents at the border, he uses language that incites hatred and violence against immigrants. The company makes a profit on the back of immigrants while building his anti-immigrant politics base at same time," Romero said.
At least seven Trump Winery employees were fired because of their non-legal immigration status, according to Romero. He said he believed the organization waited to fire undocumented workers until the end of the year so that it could profit from a year's worth of labor.
Although President Trump has taken a hard line on immigration, several of his properties have employed undocumented workers over the years. In January, the Trump Organization said that it will use the E-Verify electronic system at all of its properties to check employees' documentation.
In July, a group of undocumented immigrants fired from Trump properties wrote a letter to the president seeking a meeting with him at the White House.
"I'm hopeful that he'll look at the letter. I believe he has a heart," said Gabriel Sedano, who worked for 14 years as a handyman at Mr. Trump's club in Westchester County, New York, before he was fired in January.
Grace Segers contributed to this report.