FORMER MODELS FOR DONALD TRUMP'S AGENCY SAY THEY VIOLATED IMMIGRATION RULES AND WORKED ILLEGALLY

[groundloop]

Source: Mother Jones

Republican nominee Donald Trump has placed immigration at the core of his presidential campaign. He has claimed that undocumented immigrants are "taking our jobs" and "taking our money," pledged to deport them en masse, and vowed to build a wall on the Mexican border. At one point he demanded a ban on Muslims entering the country. Speaking to supporters in Iowa on Saturday, Trump said he would crack down on visitors to the United States who overstay their visas and declared that when any American citizen "loses their job to an illegal immigrant, the rights of that American citizen have been violated." And he is scheduled to give a major address on immigration in Arizona on Wednesday night.

But the mogul's New York modeling agency, Trump Model Management, has profited from using foreign models who came to the United States on tourist visas that did not permit them to work here, according to three former Trump models, all noncitizens, who shared their stories with Mother Jones. Financial and immigration records included in a recent lawsuit filed by a fourth former Trump model show that she, too, worked for Trump's agency in the United States without a proper visa.

<snip>

Canadian-born Rachel Blais spent nearly three years working for Trump Model Management. After first signing with the agency in March 2004, she said, she performed a series of modeling gigs for Trump's company in the United States without a work visa. At Mother Jones' request, Blais provided a detailed financial statement from Trump Model Management and a letter from an immigration lawyer who, in the fall of 2004, eventually secured a visa that would permit her to work legally in the United States. These records show a six-month gap between when she began working in the United States and when she was granted a work visa. During that time, Blais appeared on Trump's hit reality TV show, The Apprentice, modeling outfits designed by his business protégés. As Blais walked the runway, Donald Trump looked on from the front row.

<snip>

Two of the former Trump models said Trump's agency encouraged them to deceive customs officials about why they were visiting the United States and told them to lie on customs forms about where they intended to live. Anna said she received a specific instruction from a Trump agency representative: "If they ask you any questions, you're just here for meetings."

Read more: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/donald-trump-models-illegal-immigration

---

There's much more information in the linked article. Very damning for tRump.

[vadermike]

1. Wow

With trump making major speech on immigration and his flip flops I hope the media is all over this one

[lark]

5. They weren't as of this morning.

MSM skips a lot of Drumpf dirt, it's not helpful for their preferred horse race narrative.

[sarae]

6. Good point

Excellent timing on this article coming out the day before his immigration speech.

[Major Nikon]

2. ...

[Scarsdale]

35. Escorts

I wonder how many of them worked in the same line of "modelling" as Mrs. tRump? Ever hear of REAL supermodels posing for nude, lesbian porn shoots like Malaria did? Her parents, members of the Communist Party in their homeland, have been living at tRump Tower. What type of Visas do they have?

[Major Nikon]

40. I think it's safe to say not all "modeling agencies" in NYC are what they outwardly claim

Add to this someone paid to import a "model" from one of the poorest regions of Slovenia to live in one of the most expensive areas of the world while at best doing 3rd rate modeling work. She never came anywhere close to supermodel status, not to mention supermodels don't generally pose nude for men's magazines. Her self-described "modeling" agent has often been described as a pimp. So the numbers just don't add up and it isn't hard to imagine how her income was being supplemented. I don't really care how she was earning her money, but it does say a lot more about the person Trump is. Throughout his entire life, it seems like nobody could stand to be around him unless there was a financial incentive.

[lark]

3. drumpfs response?

Lie, deny, spin, froth, negative tweet.

He has no relationship with truth, it's a totally unknown commodity to him.

[sarae]

4. I'm shocked!!!

Trump might be the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen in my life.

[politicaljunkie41910]

42. The next time his daughter Ivanka mentions anything about how much her father

respects women and how well he treats the women who work for him; will someone please smack her and tell her to read this article. Her father should be an embarrassment to the entire family. This is what happens when you don't have any marketable skills or talent of your own; you must work for your creepy father in one of his sleazy, family business scams. The Trump children have to know what kind of sleazeball their father is, don't they? After all, they CAN read can't they?

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Mail Order Russian Bride!!

All seeking bald pudgy middle-aged American husbands.

And Canadians who work here and don't declare their income.

Off the books.

Under the table.

Crooked Don the Con.

[LuckyLib]

15. All seeking to land a big fish, with $$$$. Catching a Trump is the brass ring.

[Botany]

8. Trump is a crook and a con man.

I am now all over the idea that Trump is not really running for POTUS and that too
is one more scam by Don the Con.

[lewebley3]

23. You right Botany!

[Botany]

26. The man doesn't even have an office in Cincinnati, OH

S.W. OH is the reddest part of the state too.

And they more I see of all the different ways that Don and his family
are making $$$ on this campaign the more I am convinced that his
run for POTUS is one big scam.

[lewebley3]

53. He keeps using this campaign money to buy things from his company

[Botany]

54. Yup!

Trump and company are grifters.


Oh well they can loot all the GOP money they want.

[meow2u3]

52. ...and a slavedriving pimp to boot

Nothing but a trust fund criminal!

[Tempest]

9. This makes the stories about his wife being here illegally more credible. n/t

[Satch59]

10. David Corn of Mother Jones is often on MSNBC...

Would be a good day for him to show up...

[mopinko]

25. yeah, i expect to see him this evening.

on rachel if nothing else.

[LiberalLovinLug]

11. I really think that any supporter he still has won't be bothered by ANYTHING

They will drudge up excuses for any hypocrisy. For this one, it will be....Models! that's ok because......Models! Gorgeous Caucasian Models! Yowsa!! Trump is da man!!!!

[Moonwalk]

12. Exactly. But they won't see it as hypocrisy. Female models aren't taking away any man's job...

...So, Trump supporters will roll their eyes about this because we liberals are being deliberately obtuse. When Trump talks about putting up walls and shipping out illegals, he's talking about protecting Americans from criminals and those stealing their jobs, they'll argue. It's ridiculous to equate these women with the "real" illegals who need to be shipped out.


And you know—we all know—that they admire Don for his cons. They love it when he sticks it to the government. Because they also believe that government laws should be for everyone else. Not them. White, male, Christian Americans should be free to do whatever they want. Foreigners/non-whites/females and non-Christians should be subject to severe, draconian laws.

Thus, Trump is a double hero representing exactly wha they want. (1) Rules to protect white male Christian Americans from evil foreigners and terrorists, and (2) Throwing up a finger at all those silly rules that white male Christian Americans shouldn't have to follow. Win-win.

[TexasBushwhacker]

16. Yup, we simply don't have enough beautiful women in all of the US

I wonder what their payment terms were. Were there expectations of other "obligations"? The thing that gets me is that there are plenty of people who work in the US with fraudulent documents. Of course, their employers probably know and just look the other way. These employees pay at least payroll taxes, as do the employers.

I worked at such a place. In our case, the employees were fairly low paid ($10 to $12 an hour, plus overtime) and they would claim enough exemptions on their W-4 that they had little if any income tax withholding. I handled onboarding new hires and suspected one had a fraudulent Social Security card. I pointed it out to the manager that hired him and was told that as long as we had a copy of their driver's license, SS card and "green card" with their I-9, that we had done our due diligence.

It turns out that it was true. I had to report new hires to the state Attorney General for the purposes of child support enforcement, but nothing is reported to the feds. If course, things get reported on payroll tax forms, but I don't think anything is checked for validity in terms of legal work status. You can certainly confirm a new hire's legal work status through the feds, but there is no requirement that you do. Why not? Undoubtedly it's because the business lobby doesn't want it.

As an employer, you only have to have the employee's ID, SS card and work permit (if applicable) on file and available for inspection. And if Congress makes budget cuts so that inspections can't be done very often, then there's no real reason for businesses to worry about it. Plus, if the employee has bogus papers, they are the ones that get in trouble, because there is no requirement that an employer confirm the validity of a worker's papers. NONE. Pretty sweet deal for the employers.

Okay. I'm stepping down from my soapbox and FWIW I left that job after 8 months.

[pnwmom]

24. True. He's got that 40%. But it's important to keep him from getting any more. nt

[Native]

13. "Honestly, they are the most crooked agency I've ever worked for, and I've worked for quite a few."

Now 31 years old and out of the modeling business, Blais once appeared in various publications, including Vogue, Elle, and Harpers Bazaar, and she posed wearing the designs of such fashion luminaries as Gianfranco Ferré, Dolce & Gabbana, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Her modeling career began when she was 16 and spanned numerous top-name agencies across four continents. After leaving the business, she became a vocal advocate for models and appeared in a 2011 documentary, Girl Model, that explored the darker side of the industry. In a recent interview, she said her experience with Trump's firm stood out: "Honestly, they are the most crooked agency I've ever worked for, and I've worked for quite a few."

"The apartment was like a sweatshop," said a former Trump model.

A detailed financial statement provided by Blais shows that Trump's agency charged her as much as $1,600 a month for a bunk in a room she shared with five others.

Employers caught hiring noncitizens without proper visas can be fined up to $16,000 per employee and, in some cases, face up to six months in prison.

And so basically it was modern day slavery - the agency deducted their 20% commission, "fees for trainers, beauty treatments, travel, and administrative costs," and other "mysterious fees," leaving the models making very little (or even in debt).

The hits just keep coming!

[lunamagica]

14. BUT THEY ARE MODELS!!!!!

Don't you get the difference?!?!?!?!

[LuckyLib]

17. That's right! Not a housekeeper, nanny, restaurant worker, roofer, construction worker,

gardener, dish-washer, car wash employee, hotel housekeeper, casino cleaner, etc., etc., etc. You know, the REAL "illegal aliens".

[Sunlei]

18. decades of wonderful parties at trumps 'digs' full of young, 'hungry' mostly foreign beauties

though I'm sure plenty of undocumented 'Americans' were exploited for their loveliness.

someone should ask Party Doctor if he had fun!

[bucolic_frolic]

19. All that creepiness hiding in plain sight

and few will call it for what it is .... Thanks. Can you convince
the mainstream media?

[Sunlei]

22. He has a court date Sept. 9 with two very descriptive depositions of his 'creepy' side.

I think other girls will come forward after a while.

[forkol]

27. Reading that article....

And the description of how the girls lived, this seems very, very close to human trafficking, or at least massive exploitation. Many people won't see it that way, because of the girls 'lifestyle' and where they were living in NYC, but it's not much difference than the underground sweatshops that employ trafficked individuals. If you're from a very poor country, and you've been given a chance to come to the USA and model, you're probably going to be willing to do just about anything, especially if someone is holding the threat of deportation over you because you're here only on a tourist visa.

[bucolic_frolic]

29. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 2010 Op-Ed: Here’s How I Plan to End Modern Slavery

https://medium.com/hillary-for-america/here-s-how-i-plan-to-end-modern-slavery-67ca2d07a0d#.xvmil3gdx

[meow2u3]

20. Tramp has a pattern of railing against the very same practices

that he himself indulges in as a matter of course. Next time he bitches and moans about undocumented immigrants taking jobs from Americans, remind him he had HIRED ENSLAVED them over qualified Americans. In other words, he's projecting again, accusing others of his own guilty deeds to try to deflect attention from them.

[Kingofalldems]

21. LOCK HIM UP.

[JustAnotherGen]

28. I've seen this a few times at DU

And no place else in terms of 'trending'.

The unfortunate truth is . . . it won't matter to his Fan Boys and Girls.

It matters to US - but not them.

[Snake Plissken]

30. According to Trump's supporters they're only illegals if their skin is brown or black

In Trump's America Whites don't apply to immigration rules they're automatically Americans

[Farmgirl1961]

31. I see that the Guardian has picked this story up as a live feed

I realize that The Guardian isn't exactly our MSM...but it's a start:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/aug/30/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-hacking-threat-election-live

[Iliyah]

32. Let's see if AP does anything with this story . . .

There is no confidence in corporate media, they are a propaganda machine, journalism left the building a long time ago.

[Farmgirl1961]

33. Calling...calling...calling

Calling Joy Reid...calling John Oliver...calling Trevor Noah...anyone out there who wants to pick this up???

[Hekate]

47. Write to them at the station with the details/ links to demonstrate viewer interest.

[world wide wally]

34. Yeah, but Hillary has emails!

Or something

[Yallow]

36. Benghazi!!!! Whitewater!!!! E-Mails!!!!!

And the media follows every carrot Fuhrer Trump throws out like good little dogfight promoters.

[ashling]

37. Is this where Melania did her modelling?

[groundloop]

39. More than likely.

This fits in with the apparent discrepancies in her visa as well.

[ashling]

46. That's what I was thinking

[AxelAmerica]

38. Rump Ramps Up Resistance To Radical Recreational Reform

It's my contention, as America's premier truth deliverer, that the latex, be-coiffed one, Morgan Rump, is building a wall not to keep out the Mexicans, no sir, that's Illuminati propaganda and misdirection right there, no, not to keep OUT the Mexicans, but to keep IN the various tragic victims of his twisted ways, and that will be all of us one day soon.

For what does a man like Rump crave most of all? Control...that's right ladies & gentlemen. Control. And what is the lynch-pin of CONTROL nowadays, CON-TROLL, TROLLS CONNING US...excuse me...control nowadays? Yes, first of all you must establish physical, eyes-on, surveillance of your quarry. And how best to control those he wants to control, in that way, and that's all of us, but to pen us in here in our great United States, us sheeple, in his gilded pen, from sea to shining sea, from wall to towering wall. And when we are where he wants us, gathered there in these great United States, under his overlooking gaze, he will unleash all matter of perversions and self-devised evil on us, as he has on some unfortunate few...but now his venality will go nationwide, and we will all suffer...that will be all of us...

AxelAmerica - TruthLive, TruthOut!

[Delmette]

41. Does anyone remember the song Sixteen Tons.

"I owe my soul to the store."

I know this song was about coal companies and their company stores over charging for everything and essentially taking back all the employees earnings. Trump and these other model agencies seem to have been doing the same thing to these young women.

[KewlKat]

43. Chris Hayes is covering this TONIGHT

[BYJ439]

44. Trump breaking the law? What a surprise

He claims to be the "law-and-order" candidate (LOL) yet he doesn't seem to be able to practice what he preaches. The Trump University fiasco is a perfect example of that. Ditto with his tax returns, which he STILL hasn't released.

[spiderpig]

45. If anyone has heard anything ethical or humane about The Donald

please post.

I have heard NOTHING legit, honest or socially beneficial linked to the name Trump. And this goes back over 30 years.

BTW, if anyone's familiar with Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef, she recently published a book which in part describes her modeling career in Europe. Same exploitation of women (no mention of men) in Milan, Madrid and Paris, having to live in agency housing and pay them rent and other expenses if they do manage to get a gig. Models are treated like livestock.

[duncang]

48. I am wondering about the workers for his resorts

He has been and is bringing in waivered h1b visa workers for his resort in Florida. And probably other places. I would not doubt if he did the same thing as to charging so much for lodging, food, other expenses that those workers went back home with little or no money. And as far as they go I bet they got a whole lot worse treatment.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

49. Clicked on the link

Most of those models looked underage.

[Nihil]

50. Yep ... from the article:

> Trump Model Management recruited models as young as 14.
> "I was by far the oldest in the house at the ripe old age of 18"

[Gothmog]

51. This article came out just before Trump's immigration speech

I love it

[riversedge]

55. Chris Hayes and Last Word covered this last night. Don't know if regular media did.