Here’s what happens in building large projects in NYC.
Trump hires a general contractor to build the building. They, in turn, hire the trade contractors that build the building. Demolition work in the 1980s and 1990s was mainly a polish occupied labor force (along with the Italians). More likely than not, Trump would not be able to hire a GC that didn’t engage a subcontractor that was not polish back then.
The owner doesn’t screen for subcontractor employees. The GC does. More likely than not, Trump had no idea that the GC was hiring illegals.
But Trump did know.