Donald Trump’s family business increased the pace at which it hired foreign workers on temporary visas this year, even as his administration was placing obstacles in the way of other businesses that wanted to do the same, a report published Thursday claimed.
According to Forbes, which analyzed data from the US Department of Labor, the Trump Organization sought to bring in at least 184 foreign workers in 2025 for temporary positions at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, two golf clubs and his Virginia winery.
The number of applications for H-2A and H-2B visas covering temporary workers including servers, clerks, housekeepers, kitchen staff and farm workers was the highest ever submitted by the company, and up from 121 in 2021, when Trump’s first term of office ended.
It was also the fifth time in 10 years that Trump had sought to bring in more than 100 overseas workers for seasonal jobs at Mar-a-Lago, according to data seen by the Palm Beach Post.
The revelation comes amid a crackdown on legal immigration by his administration that has included the introduction of a $100,000 fee on H1-B visas for skilled foreign workers; extra scrutiny of the actions and activities of the 55 million people who already hold US visas; and restrictive new rules for foreign students and journalists.
Overall, Forbes reported, the Trump Organization sought to employ 566 foreign laborers over the five years Trump has been in the White House, from 2017 to 2021, and during 2025.
Notably, Trump was criticized by some in the Republican party this week for comments on Fox News defending the need for foreign workers when a company was unable to find people with “specific talents” to fill particular roles.
“You can’t just say a country is coming in, going to invest $10bn to build a plant, and going to take people off an unemployment line who haven’t worked in five years, and they’re going to start making their missiles. It doesn’t work that well,” he told host Laura Ingraham after she suggested foreign workers undercut the wages of US workers.
The White House declined Forbes’ request for comment, and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
