But not necessarily as alarming as some would like to make it.

Kevin Madden, Mitt Romney’s national press secretary, just sent out an e-mail announcing that the Massachusetts governor had fired Community Lawn Service after “learning that a company caring for the governor’s property was employing individuals who are not permitted to work in the United States.”

The Boston Globe reported last year that Romney had used a landscaping company that hired illegal Guatemalan immigrants to tend to his property. The charges have dogged the former Massachusetts governorÂ’s presidential campaign.

Most recently after Mr. Romney accused his Republican rival Rudolph W. Giuliani of running a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants when he was mayor of New York, Mr. Giuliani accused Mr. Romney of having a “sanctuary mansion” because he employed illegal immigrants at his home.

The problem is that Romney DID NOT employ these illegals -- the landscaper did. And while the past record of this employer would have led me to discontinue my business contacts, I can understand the decision to get the guy to do right and continue that relationship. Consider what we do know at this point.

After the discovery a year ago of the illegal workers, Mr. Romney said in his statement yesterday that he “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 his 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.”

The company’s owner, Ricardo Sáenz, a legal Colombian immigrant, met Mr. Romney through the Mormon Church, according to The Globe.

Last Thursday, the day after the debate, The Globe interviewed two of the three workers from the company who were working on Mr. RomneyÂ’s lawn. Both admitted they were illegal immigrants from Guatemala. One of them said the third worker was also in the country illegally.

Now I'd like to know some details here before passing judgment.

1) Are all three employees actually here illegally?
2) Did they present fraudulent documents or engage in identity theft to get these jobs?
3) Did the employer know that these workers were illegal?

The answers to these questions are quite critical. After all, there is a limit to how far an employer can go to question the legal status of an employer who presents documents purporting to show legal work status. It may be that the employer in this case was defrauded by the employees in question. And if that is the case, not only have the Romneys been victimized here, but so has the employer. Interestingly enough, the Boston Globe story does not seem to have pursued that aspect on the story -- merely the "gotcha" angle that obscures the issue rather than illuminates it. As such, this is a case of a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin asks some other interesting questions of the Boston Globe and the MSM, too.

Will Geraldo Rivera and his open-borders companions accuse the reporters of Nazi-like tactics for “harassing” the illegal immigrants?

Will the Globe reporters be accused of, ahem, “stalking” the poor illegals and invading privacy? Note that they didn’t just drive by the house once. They hung out on the lawn over the last two months.

And when is it permissible to ask an illegal alien his citizenship status?

Now, the answers are loud and clear:

It isn’t “harassment” when liberal MSM journalists spy on illegal aliens…if it will embarrass a Republican presidential candidate.

It isn’t “stalking” when liberal MSM journalists snap photos of your lawn and conduct two-month-long recoinnasance missions…if it will embarrass a Republican presidential candidate.

And while itÂ’s bad for police to ask suspected criminal aliens their citizenship status, itÂ’s fine and dandy for journalists to ask lawn workers whether theyÂ’re here illegallyÂ…if it will embarrass a Republican presidential candidate.

All perfectly appropriate rhetorical questions -- and spot-on answers. But I still would like to have my questions answered.

More At Hugh Hewitt, Patrick Ruffini, Andrew Sullivan

Posted by: Greg at 03:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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