Trump vineyard seeks Labor Department approval to hire foreign workers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/trump-vineyard-seeks-labor-department-approval-to-hire-foreign-workers/2016/12/22/f320bea8-c86a-11e6-8bee-54e800ef2a63_story.html?utm_term=.d0a33c0dafcf

By Patricia Sullivan December 22 at 4:59 PM

Federal ethics experts for former Democratic and Republican administrations warned Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump is creating a major conflict of interest by allowing his Virginia vineyard to seek special temporary visas for foreign workers.

Trump, who is president of the Charlottesville vineyard that applied this month for H2 visas for six foreign workers, will soon run the U.S. government, which determines whether to grant those visas.

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Trump, whose transition team and press office did not respond to requests for comment on the matter, consistently argued during the presidential campaign that the federal government should limit immigration to protect American jobs. The visas his business seeks do not allow workers to permanently reside in the United States.

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The Trump vineyard applied for 19 temporary visas for foreign workers in 2014, 2015 and this year, before the most recent request, according to federal records. In addition, he has sought to hire 513 foreign workers since 2013 for some of his other businesses, including for his Palm Beach home, Mar-a-Lago Club.

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