DNC Raps Romney for Immigration ‘Hypocrisy’

ABC News’ Catrin Jones Reports: The Democratic National Committee seized on a report in today’s Boston Globe that Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) appears to have had some illegal immigrants do landscape work around his house to rap him on "hypocrisy."

The DNC missive says that "Even as Romney travels the country, vowing to curb the flood of low-skilled illegal immigrants into the United States, some of those workers maintain his own yard, cutting grass, pruning shrubs, and mulching trees".

Romney, who is viewed as the chief rival to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has said that employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants should be penalized. 

After Romney voiced his support for a fence or wall along the US-Mexican border during an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly on Sept. 19 of this year, O’Reilly suggested that it could be known as "The Mitt Romney memorial wall" to which Romney replied: "It may be a fence. I will call it the Bill O’Reilly special."

"Then nobody will come," said O’Reilly.

“That’s right," Romney replied.

The Boston Globe reported Friday that Gov. Romney has hired a landscape company which relies heavily on illegal immigrant labor to tend to his stately residence in Belmont, MA. Workers interviewed by the Boston Globe said that neither Romney, nor the landscaping company which employed them, owner ever inquired into their residency status. One worker recalled occasionally receiving a friendly "Buenos Dias" from the Governor, and glasses of water from his wife, Ann.

When questioned about his use of illegal workers, Romney responded "Aw, Geez". Romney’s spokesman, Eric Ferhnstrom, later told the Globe that the governor only dealt with the company owner Ricardo Saenz, who is a legal immigrant, and that Romney had no knowledge of the other workers’ immigration status.

Ferhnstrom asserted that they would continue to look into the matter saying, "We’ll see what happens from here on out".