Boston Globe Report On Mitt Romney’s Illegal Lawn Workers Suddenly Relevant

(Photo credit: The Boston Globe)

One of the lasting images of Tuesday night’s Republican debate will likely be the sparring between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry over Romney’s indirect employment of illegal immigrants through a lawn company called Community Lawn Service with a Heart. Perry took Romney to task for employing illegal immigrants; Romney countered that he had discovered the company was hiring illegals, asked them to stop, and when they didn’t, he fired them. The articles Perry referenced appeared in The Boston Globe in 2006 and 2007, and brought Globe reporters all the way down to Guatemala to research the intricacies.

In 2006, Jonathan Saltzman, Maria Cramer, and Connie Paige spoke to Rene Alvarez Rosales, who noted that Romney would sometimes give him a friendly “buenos dias.” Romney’s wife, Ann, who Rosales described as “very nice,” kept them hydrated with glasses of water. The owner of the company, Ricardo Saenz, says he met Romney thorough the Mormon church and had worked for him for over a decade at the time. Saenz claimed that all of his workers were legal, although only one of the four workers interviewed by Globe reporters produced a social security card and license; the other three told reporters they were working illegally.

Saenz said he had never requested any proof from his employees to show they are here legally.

“I don’t need to tell them to show me documents,” he said. “I know who they are, and they are legal.”

A little over a year later, the Globe followed up on the original article, revealing that illegals were still working on Romney’s lawn.

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.

When told of this by reporters, Romney immediately fired Community Lawn Service with a Heart. “After this same issue arose last year, I gave the company a second chance with very specific conditions,” Romney said in the statement. “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 first Boston Globe article, from Dec. 1, 2006, can be found here.

The follow-up article, from Dec. 4, 2007, can be found here.