The Trump Organization has fired at least 18 undocumented workers from five of its golf courses in New York and New Jersey in the last two months.
Eric Trump, President Trump’s son and a Trump Organization executive, confirmed the firings to The Washington Post on Monday.
{mosads}The dismissals include three workers from the Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck near Montrose, N.J., and three more at the Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia in Pine Hill, N.J. Another worker was fired from Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley in Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
The firings were a result of an audit conducted by the Trump Organization after The New York Times reported in December on undocumented people working as housekeepers at its property in Bedminster, N.J.
The report follows a story from the Times last week saying dozens of undocumented immigrants have been fired from their jobs at Trump properties in recent months.
The reports indicate that the Trump Organization’s practice of hiring undocumented workers may have been more widespread than previously reported, even as Trump continues to make illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidency.
“We are making a broad effort to identify any employee who has given false and fraudulent documents to unlawfully gain employment,” Eric Trump said in a statement last month. “Where identified, any individual will be terminated immediately.”
The company claimed it had been fooled and that employees had lied about their immigration status. However, some of the migrants told the Times and the Post that the company was aware that they were undocumented and that their documentation was fake.
Former employees told the Post that the number of undocumented migrants working at Trump properties is likely higher than reflected by the firings because many workers are employed on a seasonal basis. While these workers may not technically be fired, they told the Post they did not think they would be rehired in the spring.
The Trump Organization said last week it would begin to use the E-Verify electronic system to check workers’ legal status against government documents.
The scrutiny surrounding the Trump Organization comes as House Democrats have discussed opening inquiries into the business to further probe possible financial violations by Trump and his family.
A few House Democrats have announced they are bringing workers who were fired from Trump properties as their guests to Tuesday’s State of the Union address.