He never asked for papers
Posted by Raven on December 1st, 2006
The Boston Globe has an interesting article about MA Gov. Mitt Romney— and his choice of using the services of a lawn care company that employs illegal immigrants.
As Governor Mitt Romney explores a presidential bid, he has grown outspoken in his criticism of illegal immigration. But, for a decade, the governor has used a landscaping company that relies heavily on workers like these, illegal Guatemalan immigrants, to maintain the grounds surrounding his pink Colonial house on Marsh Street in Belmont.
The Globe recently interviewed four current and former employees of Community Lawn Service with a Heart, the tiny Chelsea-based company that provides upkeep of Romney’s property. All but one said they were in the United States illegally.
The employees told the Globe that company owner Ricardo Saenz never asked them to provide documents showing their immigration status and knew they were illegal immigrants.
“He never asked for papers,” said Rosales, who said he had paid smugglers about $5,000 to take him across the US-Mexican border and settled in Chelsea.
The workers said they were paid in cash at $9 to $10 an hour and sometimes worked 11-hour days.
Romney never inquired about their status, they said.
In addition to maintaining the governor’s property, they also tended to the lawn at the house owned by Romney’s son, Taggart, less than a mile away on the same winding street.
Asked by a reporter yesterday about his use of Community Lawn Service with a Heart, Romney, who was hosting the Republican Governors Association conference in Miami, said, “Aw, geez,” and walked away.
The political ramifications could be bad…and I wonder how many other Governors and Senators and House Reps have illegals working in their yards or within their homes, tending gardens or cooking. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.
Jay at Wizbang points out that the Boston Globe goes to pains, under “normal” circumstances, to avoid using language that calls “immigrants” –illegal immigrants. He has an excellent point:
Well, if there is such a rule formally written down at the Boston Globe, there’s a little footnote attached to it:
“Undocumented workers and immigrants may be referred to as ‘illegal aliens’ when the usage will hurt those we disagree with politically.”
Read the story carefully. You’ll notice a lot of the typical anti-illegal-immigration buzzwords and catchphrases that the Globe so normally decries when used by others. The man who hired the illegal aliens’ employer of record “never inquired about their status” — but they’re not supposed to. That’s not their responsibility. The Globe says it independently verified one worker’s legal documents, but they’re not supposed to be able to access those records.
December 1st, 2006 at 8:31 am
If Mitt starts to get any traction with the voters, watch for this “incident” to be endlessly looped and repeated by the MSM, along with naming at least 8 other Republicans and 1 DemoRAT (for “balance”, just to show they aren’t biased) as having hired illegals.
December 1st, 2006 at 8:02 pm
Yes I agree- this will come back to haunt Romney. These things always do…but I want to know how many in Congress, how many Governors have illegals working for them…
December 2nd, 2006 at 3:28 am
You Can Kiss Romney’s Chances For ‘08 Good-Bye
He contracted a company to work on his lawn tha…
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