Even though Donald Trump has basically been running for reelection since the first day of his presidency, he’s traveling to Florida on Tuesday to formally announce his 2020 campaign. There, he’ll be joined by his base supporters—and by a group of people he and his administration have taken pains to publicly discuss as little as possible.
At least six immigrants who worked at Trump’s resorts are expected to participate in a press conference ahead of Trump’s announcement, the NY Daily News reports, to advocate for a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants like them—and to continue exposing his “cruelty and hypocrisy,” specifically regarding the Trump Organization’s exploitation of undocumented labor.
“No one knows better than Trump himself that immigrants are hardworking individuals who support a multitude of industries across the country,” said attorney Anibal Romero, who represents dozens of immigrants who worked at Trump’s businesses, “including his restaurants, golf courses, wineries and hotels.” While at least one of the former workers who will be in Florida, former housekeeper Sandra Diaz, has since been able to gain legal status since being employed at Trump’s New Jersey golf club, others, like former housekeeper Victorina Morales, continue to remain undocumented.
Morales worked so closely to Trump that she cleaned his makeup off his clothes. She and others have described being loyal, hard workers who simply wanted to work to provide the best for their families. They kept his golf greens trim, and the living quarters of the Trump family clean and beautiful. Companies would be lucky to have them. But in return, they were abused, threatened, and exploited by the Trump Organization. In fact, dozens from at least five golf courses have been fired following reporting on the organization’s hiring practices.
It’s a fact that immigrants are the backbone of American industries. Trump should know it, because he employs them, but he’d rather use them as human pawns as a political issue. His former workers, however, are not staying silent. “[N]o one knows better than the undocumented workers who worked for Trump, how urgent it is for Congress to pass humane and sensible immigration laws,” Romero continued, “so that immigrants can continue contributing to their communities and to our nation, just like they did for Trump and his family.”