Summary
Donald Trump, who has pledged to crack down on immigration, continues to hire foreign guest workers for his businesses at record levels.
In 2024, Trump’s companies, including Mar-a-Lago, his golf courses, and a Virginia winery, hired 209 foreign workers, nearly double the number from a decade ago.
Most were employed under H-2B visas, meant for seasonal jobs when American workers are unavailable.
Critics argue these programs undermine U.S. workers’ bargaining power, while Trump’s allies, like Project 2025, advocate for restricting such visas. Trump has distanced himself from these proposals while continuing to utilize the program.
He doesn’t actually want them gone. He wants them oppressed and desperate.
That’s actually been the standard Republican strategy for as long as I can remember, because they’re trying to serve two purposes at the same time. On the one hand they want to appeal to the racists in their party, but on the other hand, they want to ensure that American businesses enjoy uninterrupted access to cheap and desperate labor. And the two actually complement each other pretty well. They can and do foment hatred and promise mass deportations and all of that to appeal to the racists, but never quite manage to actually solve the supposed problem, or even really make any headway on it, which means that businesses can stil take advantage of cheap and desperate labor and there are still “illegals” for the racists to rail against.