The biased Boston Globe (BBG for short) admits that Governor Mitt Romney's Belmont home wasn't the only client of Community Lawn Service With A Heart. The big front page story was that this landscaping and lawn care company apparently hired illegal immigrants to do the work, and didn't tell their clients about their hiring of illegals Governor Romney didn't investigate the immigration status of each of their employees. You can see how it's easy to get confused.
Yesterday's story reveals that there were several public agencies bamboozled insufficiently curious.
The city of Chelsea said it will review its contract with Community Lawn Service with a Heart, which maintains parks and school grounds in the city. The Massachusetts Port Authority said the company will not be allowed to renew its contract with the authority next year to maintain vacant lots in East Boston unless it can demonstrate it complies with federal immigration law.
"We expect every company that does business with Massport to comply with state and federal law," said Richard Walsh, a spokesman for Massport.
Imagine that. If the BBG hadn't been going overboard in search of dirt on the Governor they'd have never discovered these egregious violations. Oh, wait a minute. As guardians of the public trust, shouldn't the BBG have been this interested in Community Lawn Service's hiring practices, given that they were doing business with the state, before thinking it important to look into the Governor's landscaping company?
Interesting also is the city of Chelsea's defense.
Ash said he does not believe the city had a legal obligation or even the right to check whether Saenz's employees were legally working in the country.
Exactly. The BBG tries hard to bring the story back to Mr. Romney, unsuccessfully in my opinion, as in the course of their efforts they once again blend "illegal immigrants" and (presumably legal) immigrants in a puree of "immigrant rights."
The Globe story stirred intense reaction from all sides of the immigration debate yesterday. Romney has grown more vocal in his opposition to illegal immigration as he eyes a White House bid in 2008. He supports construction of a new 700-mile fence along the country's border with Mexico and stationing National Guard troops there until it is finished.
An advocate for immigrants yesterday called the governor a hypocrite.
"Over the past four years, Governor Romney has railed against undocumented immigrants relentlessly," Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant Advocacy Coalition, said in a statement. "To our knowledge, Governor Romney has never offered a solution that respects undocumented immigrants as hard-working individuals striving to achieve the American dream, like the individuals who manicured his lawn for the past 10 years."
The logic escapes me. According to this "advocate" the Governor was supposed to snoop into the backgrounds of the employees of every company with which he privately contracts, or else be willing to welcome and support all illegal immigrants? Huh?
Captain Ed reminds us of the consequences of that action.
Let's think about the reverse for a moment. Had Romney demanded that the workers present proof of eligibility to work before allowing them on his property, how would the Boston Globe have reported that? Would they have hailed him as a paragon of steadfastness against illegal immigration? Or would they have reported him as a racist who just assumes all Hispanics must be in the country illegally? Instead of interviewing the three or four illegals in the firm, the Globe would have found three or four proper citizens just trying to make a living that felt Romney's supposed racism.
I've had about enough of this story. My head is spinning. Can anyone tell me the BBG's position, given the two stories? Are all Americans responsible for policing the hiring of illegal immigrants by every company with whom they come in contact, or are illegal immigrants really just immigrants who should be welcomed openly? I guess it depends on whose ox is being gored.
