President Donald Trump paid over $1.3 million in labor settlements in 1998 after he was accused of employing undocumented immigrants on the construction of the Trump Tower, the New York Times reported Monday.
In 1980, Trump employed 200 Polish immigrants to help demolish the Bonwit Teller building and make way for his Manhattan highrise, previous reports confirmed. Trump testified 10 years later that he didn’t know the workers were undocumented, despite others saying in court that he did know their immigration status.
Trump has said that he never settles lawsuits, but last week, a judge ordered the unsealing of court documents that led to the Times report. The documents, which were under wraps for 20 years, revealed that Trump settled Hardy v. Kaszycki for $1.375 million.
A motion filed by Time Inc. and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in 2016 prompted the unsealing, the Times reported.
Since taking office, Trump has continued to rail against undocumented immigrants.
“We are fighting hard for merit-based immigration, no more Democrat lottery systems. We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter),” he tweeted Nov. 1.
On Tuesday, Trump blamed a potential government shutdown on immigration legislation rolled into funding bills.
Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
In September, Trump ended an Obama-era policy protecting undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children.
H/T Mic
