Perry vs. Romney: ‘You Hired Illegals’
Perry recycled an old chestnut, accusing Romney of hiring illegal immigrants to do landscaping work, and saying that Romney “knew about it for a year.” Romney said, “I don’t think I’ve ever hired an illegal in my life.” I went to the company and said: View video below:
Look I running for office and I can't have any illegals working on my property..
The truth is that there’s no evidence that Romney knowingly hired illegal immigrants. But he hired a lawn service that did. And Romney kept the company on for a year after the issue was highlighted in a 2006 Boston Globe story — only to find out the company was still employing illegal workers.
During a 2007 presidential debate, then candidate Rudy Giuliani chastised Romney for having “illegal immigrants working at your mansion.” We wrote about the issue then, and highlighted the Boston Globe story a year prior that documented that several illegals worked at Romney’s home off and on over an eight-year period. The workers were employed by a contractor, Community Lawn Service with a Heart.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
After the debate, the Globe wrote a follow-up story, noting that the company was still employing illegal immigrants, and that the company was still being used by Romney.
Boston Globe, Dec. 4, 2007: Standing on stage at a Republican debate on the Gulf Coast of Florida last week, Mitt Romney repeatedly lashed out at rival Rudy Giuliani for providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants in New York City.
Yet, the very next morning, on Thursday, at least two illegal immigrants stepped out of a hulking maroon pickup truck in the driveway of Romney’s Belmont house, then proceeded to spend several hours raking leaves, clearing debris from Romney’s tennis court, and loading the refuse back on to the truck.
After being questioned by Globe reporters, Romney issued a statement saying that he had just learned that the company was still hiring illegal immigrants and that he had fired the company.
The statement said: “After this same issue arose last year, I gave the company a second chance with very specific conditions. They were instructed to make sure people working for the company were of legal status. We personally met with the company in order to inform them about the importance of this matter. The owner of the company guaranteed us, in very certain terms, that the company would be in total compliance with the law going forward.
“The company’s failure to comply with the law is disappointing and inexcusable, and I believe it is important I take this action,” Romney said.
