((PKG)) Undocumented Workers
((Banner: Undocumented Workers))
((Reporter: Ramon Taylor))
((Camera: Ramon Taylor, Celia Mendoza))
((Map: Bound Brook, New Jersey))
((NATS))
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
I was there waiting when (my supervisor) arrived in a golf cart. ‘You don’t speak English?’, she asked. ‘No,’ I told her. ‘I don’t speak English.’ And she told me, ‘Don’t worry. Here you don’t need English nor do you need papers (legal documentation).’ I went to the interview on a Sunday, and I began working there on Monday (the next day).
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
My name is Victorina Morales. I’m an immigrant. I’m from Guatemala.
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
When I was with Vicky, I taught her everything about the homes of President Trump, (First Daughter) Ivanka Trump, and Mark Sanchez, the Jets (football) player that lived there. So she (Vicky) was very important.
((Courtesy: Photos of Victorina Morales))
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
When we would clean [President Trump’s] house, he always liked to have $100, $50 and $20 bills on his nightstand. And when he leaves, he always leaves with cash because he tends to give tips to people on the grounds.
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
I was cleaning the stairs when he came through and he looks at me and laughs. He puts out his hand and gives me $100. Thank you, I tell him. I would always tell people, this man is so good because he gives tips. He never looks down upon us, always mindful.
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
And the work is very taxing. You come in at 6 a.m. and until you finish at 2:30 p.m., you don’t stop. There are 11 rooms. Four homes. There’s [President Trump’s] house, Ivanka’s house, a (former) Jets (football) player’s (house), Laundry, Men’s locker room, Ladies' locker room. We have the event hall, the offices. You don’t stop for a second.
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
A week before I first began working, another person had just started. We were the two new people in housekeeping. After some time, I began to notice that the woman was a bit difficult, very aggressive. She would abuse people because she knew we didn’t have the same status that she had. She would always use the words, ‘stupid, ignorant. You come to this country and you don’t even bother to learn English.’
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
She began calling us donkeys, telling us we didn’t understand anything. One time, we were cleaning a suite. We put the sheets in a bag to take them to get washed. I was putting the sheets in the machine when she came and said to me, ‘Stupid! Don’t you see that doesn’t fit?’ And she pushed me. If I hadn’t grabbed onto the wall, I would have hit my forehead onto the edge of the machine. That was the first violent act.
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
One time, Vicky tried to leave and [the supervisor] told her that if she tried to leave the institution or complained about it, [immigration authorities] could show up at her door.
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
I said, of course she does it because she sees the president expressing himself the same way toward us.
((Donald Trump, Then-Presidential Candidate--June 16, 2015))
They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
We began to speak amongst ourselves, ‘how is it possible that we’ve arrived at such an extreme, that he speaks so harshly?’ But everyone stayed quiet because everyone had their own interests.
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
I told Sandra I can’t take it anymore. I swear. I’m tired of this. I just wanted someone to listen. And she told me, ‘Alright. You know what? I have a lawyer and I want you to get to know him and to tell him your story.’
((Anibal Romero, Immigration Attorney))
She was coerced into doing work she didn’t want to do. She was threatened with deportation. These are elements of federal crimes, forced labor that I believe federal prosecutors can look at.
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
The supervisor made my life impossible and I asked the lawyer what can I do?
((Anibal Romero, Immigration Attorney))
I thought that going public with this, on the record, and telling her story, let America hear her story, was going to be very important.
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
I told him I want to talk. And he tells me, ‘Alright, you want to talk?’ Yes. I’m not afraid.
((Sandra Diaz, Undocumented Housekeeper))
It’s comfortable to make an announcement when you don’t have to face the consequences. But that’s what we get criticized the most for doing: to come out and face the consequences in the news. In this country, we (undocumented immigrants) are accustomed to order. We prefer to accept abuse and mistreatment and remain on the margins, without causing any problems because we [have no choice].
((Victorina Morales, Undocumented Housekeeper at Trump National Golf Club))
I don’t speak for just myself. I speak for all my fellow immigrants [when I ask] that they open the doors for us. That we get out of this void and talk [amongst ourselves]. That we stop hiding our face behind a tree where we can't be seen.
((TEXT))
VOA reached out to both the Trump Organization and the White House for comment.
Multiple requests went unanswered.
((TEXT))
In a statement, the Trump Organization said:
“We have tens of thousands of employees across our properties and have very strict hiring practices. If any employee submitted false documentation in an attempt to circumvent the law, they will be terminated immediately.”
((TEXT))
Since Victorina Morales and Sandra Diaz first told their story, several more undocumented workers at Trump National Golf Club have come forward with theirs.
