Mar-a-Lago, one of President Donald Trump's most famous properties, applied this year for visas for 70 foreign guest workers, despite the fact that its owner made hiring American workers one of the staples of his campaign message.
The Washington Post's David Fahrenthold and Lori Rosza are reporting that, despite Mar-a-Lago's claims that it can't find any American workers to fill its positions, the luxury resort barely makes any effort to find Americans who are willing and able take up its job offers.
In the weeks leading up to Mar-a-Lago's formal request for visas for foreign workers, the resort ran precisely two ads in the local Palm Beach Post letting the community know it was looking for help. The ads let prospective workers know that they need "three months" of "recent & verifiable [experience] in [the] fine dining/country club" industry.
The real kicker, however, is that the resort does not give applicants an email address or phone number -- and tells them only to "apply by fax."
And even applicants who are qualified and who happen to have quick access to a working fax machine aren't likely to actually get the jobs being advertised.
Jeannie Coleman, a resident of West Palm Beach who applied to work at Mar-a-Lago two years ago, said the club gave her a job interview but didn't hire her. It subsequently made a request for more foreign workers on the grounds that it was having trouble finding Americans to fill its jobs.
"I had the qualifications," Coleman told the Post. "The interview went great. But they never even did the common courtesy to call me and tell me why I wasn’t hired."