News Releases

SCDP: Romney Brings Immigration Hypocrisy to South Carolina

December 18, 2007

Columbia, SC �"Mitt Romney is bringing his immigration hypocrisy back to South Carolina today. After failing to explain his crassly calculating flip-flops on everything from gun control to gay rights last weekend on Meet the Press, Romney is pandering to primary voters by attacking his rivals on immigration reform. As with every other issue in this campaign, the Right Wing Romney who talks tough on immigration on the campaign trail bears no resemblance to the Massachusetts Mitt who ran and governed in the Bay State.

For example, out on the campaign trail Romney likes to criticize "sanctuary employers, people who hire people that have come here illegally." [CNN, 11/14/07] But back home in Boston, Romney has been caught twice in the last year using a landscaping company that employed undocumented workers on the lawn of his mansion. [Boston Globe, 12/5/07] Romney also hired another company to paint his house, even though the company was cited on the front page of the Boston Globe in an investigation into illegal hiring practices, including the use of undocumented workers. [Boston Globe, 12/7/07]

No wonder a recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll found that just eight percent of Republicans think Romney "says what he believes rather than what voters want to hear." [Los Angeles Times, 12/5/07] The poll found Romney finished last among the five leading GOP candidates.

"When it comes to immigration reform, Mitt Romney has about as much credibility as the failed President he so desperately wants to replace," said South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler. "South Carolinians deserve real leaders who can be trusted to move America forward, not a shameless panderer who will say anything to win over primary voters."


Mitt Romney's Evolution on Immigration

Tim Russert: "On every one of these issues there has been an evolution, an intellectual journey on all of those issues." [Meet the Press, 12/16/07]

OLD MITT Romney Supports McCain-Bush Immigration Bill, Saying Proposals are "Quite Different" From Amnesty. According to the Boston Globe, in November 2005 Romney spoke "approvingly of efforts by McCain and Bush to solve the nation's immigration crisis, calling them 'reasonable proposals.'" In the November 2005 interview, "Romney described immigration proposals by McCain and others as 'quite different' from amnesty, because they required illegal immigrants to register with the government, work for years, pay taxes, not take public benefits, and pay a fine before applying for citizenship. ‘That's very different than amnesty, where you literally say, 'OK, everybody here gets to stay,'' Romney said in the interview. 'It's saying you could work your way into becoming a legal resident of the country by working here without taking benefits and then applying and then paying a fine.'" [Boston Globe, 3/16/07]


NEW MITT Romney: June 2007 Romney Calls Bill Amnesty. "Romney's response to the bill has varied with his audience. Most of his criticism has focused on the so-called Z-visa, a document proposed for registering the estimated 12 million illegal aliens in the country. Last month in South Carolina, home to the type of social conservatives Romney is courting, he said, 'I think we should not call it the 'Z' visa; we should call it the 'A' visa, because it's amnesty and that's what it stands for.' Yet a week later in Florida, he said, "There are some who get involved in whether it is technically amnesty or not and I'm not really trying to define what is technically amnesty. I'll let the lawyers do that." [AP, 6/4/07]

November 2005: Romney Supports McCain-Bush Immigration Bill, Saying They Are "Quite Different" From Amnesty. According to the Boston Globe, in November 2005 Romney spoke "approvingly of efforts by McCain and Bush to solve the nation's immigration crisis, calling them 'reasonable proposals.'" In the November 2005 interview, "Romney described immigration proposals by McCain and others as 'quite different' from amnesty, because they required illegal immigrants to register with the government, work for years, pay taxes, not take public benefits, and pay a fine before applying for citizenship. 'That's very different than amnesty, where you literally say, 'OK, everybody here gets to stay,'' Romney said in the interview. 'It's saying you could work your way into becoming a legal resident of the country by working here without taking benefits and then applying and then paying a fine.'" [Boston Globe, 3/16/07]


March 2006: Romney Supports A "Path to Citizenship," Opposes "Rounding Up" Undocumented Workers. "Gov. Mitt Romney expressed support yesterday for an immigration program that places large numbers of illegal residents on the path toward citizenship… 'I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country,' Romney said. '[T]hose that are here paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process towards application for citizenship, as they would from their home country.'" [Lowell Sun, 3/30/06] December

2006: Romney Caught Using Undocumented Workers At His Own Home. "A lawn service used for several years by Gov. Mitt Romney, who is considering a run for president, employed illegal immigrants to work on the grounds of his suburban home, according to a published report. The Boston Globe said it interviewed in Spanish four current and former employees of Community Lawn Service with a Heart, and all but one who said they had worked on Romney's property said they were in the country illegally. The employees told the newspaper the company's owner, Ricardo Saenz, never asked them to show documents on their immigration status, which is required by federal law." [Boston Globe, 12/1/06]

May 2007: Romney Opposes Immigration Bill, Even Though It Includes Everything He Supports. "The record shows Romney repeatedly has demanded stronger border security. A campaign ad calls for tamper-proof identification cards. And in a debate last week, he said illegal immigrants need to go back to their home country and ''get in line'' before they can become citizens. 'That's exactly what's on the table. All of those things are part of the immigration package,' said Marshall Fitz, spokesman for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a nonpartisan organization of lawyers and professors. 'Romney and the other candidates who continue to beat their chests against this legislation are just playing to the conservative base.'" [Miami Herald, 5/25/07]

June

June 2007: Romney Calls Bill Amnesty. "Romney's response to the bill has varied with his audience. Most of his criticism has focused on the so-called Z-visa, a document proposed for registering the estimated 12 million illegal aliens in the country. Last month in South Carolina, home to the type of social conservatives Romney is courting, he said, 'I think we should not call it the 'Z' visa; we should call it the 'A' visa, because it's amnesty and that's what it stands for.' Yet a week later in Florida, he said, "There are some who get involved in whether it is technically amnesty or not and I'm not really trying to define what is technically amnesty. I'll let the lawyers do that." [AP, 6/4/07]


December 2007: Romney Caught Using Undocumented Workers to Mow His Lawn (AGAIN) And Paint His House. The Boston Globe found that Romeny continued to employ the company that "employs illegal immigrants to tend to his grounds" until this week. Two days later, the Globe reporterd that another "company that painted Mitt Romney's Belmont mansion in recent months is under investigation by state authorities for dodging labor laws and accused of relying on subcontractors that exploited workers, including illegal immigrants." [Boston Globe, 12/5/07; Boston Globe, 12/7/07]