Trump slammed by undocumented migrant housekeeper
A migrant who has been working illegally at Donald Trump’s golf course and cleaned his toilet says she’s tired of the “humiliation”.
An undocumented migrant who has been working at Donald Trump’s golf course since 2013 says she’s sick of the “abuse”, “insults” and “humiliation” from her boss.
Victorina Morales — who has cleaned the President’s toilet, made his bed and dusted his crystal golf trophies — told the New York Times she was hired at Mr Trump’s Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey with “phony” papers.
The Guatemalan said supervisors were aware of her immigration status and helped her keep her job after she crossed the border illegally in 1999. She said there were also other undocumented workers at the club — although there is no evidence Mr Trump or Trump Organisation executives knew of her of their status.
Ms Morales, who risks being fired and deported by speaking out, said she was offended by the way the President labelled Central American migrants as dangerous criminals.
She believed his attitude had trickled down at the Trump National Golf Club — where Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka married Jared Kushner and have a cottage — saying one supervisor referring to staff as “stupid illegal immigrants”.
“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,” she added. “We sweat it out to attend to his every need and have to put up with his humiliation.”
The Trump Organisation said in a statement that “if an employee submitted false documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately.”
Ms Morales said she was hired to work at the New Jersey resort for $10 an hour in 2013, after telling a supervisor she didn’t have “good papers”. She said that after Mr Trump started campaigning for the presidency, she was told she could not work at his residence, and others had their hours cut down.
Sandra Diaz, from Costa Rica, told the Times she worked illegally at the club from 2010 to 2013 and at least two supervisors were aware that she and others did not have working rights.
Ms Diaz said she washed and ironed Mr Trump’s white boxers, golf shirts, khaki trousers, sheets and towels with special detergent in a separate machine. She said he was “meticulous about everything” and if he arrived early, “everyone runs around like crazy”.
She said that on one occasion in 2012, he made her follow him to the clubhouse, where he ran his finger over the surfaces to check for dust. Impressed with her efforts, he tipped her with a $100 bill.
The same year, she said, he had an outburst over orange stains on the collar of a white golf shirt, which she said were remnants of his makeup.
Mr Trump, who has made immigration a key campaign platform, said during the presidential campaign that he had introduced an e-verify system at his Washington hotel to ensure he only hired people legally entitled to work.
He has recently been campaigning for billions in funding for his wall on the Mexican border, and stoked fear over an approaching migrant “caravan” during the midterms.
But despite his “America First” policies, he regularly employs cheap, temporary foreign workers at his hotels and golf clubs.
Mr Trump wants the next government funding package to include at least $7 billion for his proposed wall in exchange for helping hundreds of thousands of young immigrants avoid deportation.
Democrats have refused, saying the two should not be linked, but approved a bipartisan Senate plan for $2.2 billion in border security funding, which would only be used for fencing.
The House and Senate approved a stopgap bill Thursday to keep the government funded until December 21 and avoid a partial government shutdown.
Mr Trump will meet House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the next step to avoiding that result.