Trump Winery, a vineyard in rural Virginia run by President Donald Trump’s son, Eric Trump, fired a group of undocumented workers on Monday, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported. The employees, at least some of whom had worked at the winery for more than a decade, claim the firings came at a strategic time for the vineyard — right after the backbreaking annual grape harvest had come to an end.
“They didn’t make this decision in the summer because they needed us a lot then,” Omar Miranda, a tractor driver from Honduras who was among the unauthorized workers who were fired this week, told the Post.
“Donald Trump has known about these workers for months,” added Anibal Romero, an immigration lawyer who is advising Miranda. “He waits until the fields are tended, grapes picked, wine made. He then discards them like a used paper bag. Happy New Year — you’re fired.”
The Post reported that at least seven undocumented workers were dismissed by Trump Winery. The dismissals come almost a year after the Trump Organization vowed to crack down on unauthorized employees, the paper noted.
The company, which is owned by President Donald Trump, came under scrutiny last year after reports emerged of Trump hotels, golf courses and other businesses hiring undocumented workers.
Those hiring practices stood in stark contrast to the president’s hard line immigration policy and crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Since those reports, the Times said the Trump Organization had fired “dozens” of unauthorized employees.
Trump has “benefited from undocumented labor for a very long time,” Romero told the paper this week.