<p>You cannot make this stuff up: Former governor Mitt Romney, R-Mass. – who is attacking Huckabee and former mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Huckabee for not being tough enough on the border issue – still had illegal immigrants working on his lawn until Tuesday, when The Boston Globe brought that inconvenient fact to his attention.
The morning after Giuliani attacked Romney’s “sanctuary mansion” at last week’s debate in Florida, “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 onto the truck,” per the Globe’s Maria Cramer, Maria Sacchetti, and Connie Paige.</p>
<p>Get with the news. Afterthat episode, Romeny fired the landscaper…yesterday. It was released on the news today.<br>
I am not a Romney supporter, but buck for buck he is not the only person to hire a landscape company that has illegals working for them. IN NJ and VA these companies go to the 7-11 in the morning and pick them up. I even know homeowners who do the exact thing.<br>
There is a complete difference from him hiring a landscaper and trusting them to employ legals to the fact that Hil accepts thousands of dollars from HSU, and then says I didn’t know. You take @250K and never vetted the person?</p>
<p>I recently hired a contractor to add insulation to my attic. I have no idea if their employees are in the country legally. WashMom hired a company yesterday to come and clean our gutters and wash the outside of our windows. We won’t even be home when they are working, and there is no chance I’ll know if their workers are illegal. Every person who has cut my hair in the last five years has a foreign accent. How would I know if they are illegals?</p>
<p>It makes six inches of newspaper copy or two minutes of lurid television, but it’s hardly good journalism. The Globe certainly doesn’t sound like the paper it once was if this passes for a hot story.</p>
<p>When we bought our house we had lots of contractors. The roof guys were Mexican, the painters were from Eastern Europe and the floor guys were all Irish. I didn’t check their visas. Not my job.</p>
<p>This is why there will be no traction to the Romney story. Too many people in the US can understand his position. I hired a company, is it my responsibilty to go our on the front lawn and ask for the green card…Can we all hear ACLU screaming profiling!</p>
<p>I would think if you were a presidential candidate, you’d be super careful with everything. But with that said, I think lots of people sympathize.</p>
<p>We hired a fantastic Brazilian guy to do the hardscaping in our yard. He came highly recommended. Meetings had to be in person because his English was extremely limited. He’d get various friends and relations to help out-even his mom. I assume he is legal but really have no idea. Were we really supposed to ask for his papers, just because his English was limited?</p>
<p>If I hand over a drivers license with my social security card, passport, car insurance, registration and everything else in my wallet you would be able to determine. In my state you cannot get a license without your birth certificate (raised seal) same is true for AK, NJ, VA and KS. Been there done it, know that is a fact.</p>
<p>Just to make my opinion clear, I am not against immigrants, I am against the fact that they break the law to enter the country. Stand in line and do it legally.</p>
<p>Ok let’s go with that. Than they are still breaking the law–expired visa. </p>
<p>On Fox this morning there is a dog that may be euthanized for attacking an illegal (17 yrs here). The person in ? entered the property with the knowledge that they should not, came close to the owner —pushed her and the dog attacked. The dog might be put down, but the illegal received monetary subsidy and is not being deported. I can’t figure it out></p>
<p>You’re not excused. My grandfather, a Lithuanian Jewish silk merchant, was denied entry at Ellis Island. He went to Canada, changed the family name to “Albert”, and entered illegally as a French-Canadian, complete with drivers license, passport, birth certificate and, soon enough, Social Security card.</p>
<p>Agree, pretty dumb move on any politician seeking higher office. At the very least, he coulda/shoulda (heck maybe he did, but the Globe ignored it) have a contract with the landscaping company that clearly requires THEM to comply with all federal and state laws, including employment laws. At least he’d have an excuse.</p>
<p>Your grandfather… than I am under the assumption you are an American citizen. Ellis Island closed in 1954! The laws have changed in the past 50 years. </p>
<p>If you are proud that he did it illegally, than that is your choice.</p>
<p>My question is do we as Americans pick and choose the laws we adhere to?</p>
<p>MADad,</p>
<p>My opinion is that Romney is cleaning house because everyone is now looking deeper into the candidates since the Iowa caucus is a month away</p>
<p>There is probably no lawn service in the US that does not employ illegals with “funny accents”. Its the same old problem - rail against Chinese imports and then go Xmas shopping at Walmart.</p>
<p>Not such a big deal for Romney - he can have one of “My 5 Sons” do his yardwork. They can some time off from “serving America”.</p>
<p>Come fall, he will have plenty of time to do it himself.</p>
<p>Although I don’t think this is such a terrible sin, I actually view it as a sign of progress that someone’s holding a husband/father accountable for the hiring of household help. In the 90’s, it was pretty tiresome to see women bear the brunt of those decisions while no one inquired into the domestic staff of male candidates. If the press wants to expose this kind of thing, I’m glad to see they are apparently doing it across the board.</p>
<p>What I find hilarious and that everybody is missing, is that he fired his landscaper on the day of the first snowstorm of the season! Landscaping season is over! He was happy to wait until they cleaned up the leaves on his property! Now he has until spring to find new ones.</p>