Grijalva wants FBI to probe Trump resorts

After recent reports that the Trump Organization has a history of hiring — and is now firing — undocumented immigrants at its resorts, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva is calling for an FBI investigation.

Grijalva, D-Ariz., has drafted a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting an investigation into “possible violations of both civil and criminal law” by some of President Donald Trump’s golf clubs.

Grijalva said that he spoke with four former Trump employees this week, and other members of Congress have spoken with more. He said they were fired on Jan. 18 for presenting false documents when they were hired, which was more than 10 years ago in many cases.

Grijalva wrote that the former employees painted a picture of “an elaborate ploy by the Trump Organization to systematically procure cheap immigrant labor and employ undocumented immigrants — despite knowing that the documents they provided were false.”

Many of the former employees said they were encouraged by Trump Organization employees to find believable documentation, and were sometimes even given the documents, Grijalva wrote.

He called on the FBI to be consistent in its practices and to remember that “nobody is above the law, and that includes the President of the United States.”

Grijalva also said House Republicans need to support the investigation to avoid hypocrisy.

“My Republican colleagues have railed against this as well and have pointed out other instances where they insist that people be held accountable for who they hire and if it’s a legal hire or not,” Grijalva said. “If they want to be consistent, they would want to know for sure whether or not their president is one of those employers who has violated the law.”

The letter was distributed to House offices earlier this week to collect signatures. Grijalva will continue to gather signatures until next Thursday, when the letter is sent out, his office said.