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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2010)
<CI** ^Jortlanb (Observer O c to b e r 27, 2010 Page 15 New Prices Effective May l f 2010 B iü Jp N A ÍR E S IN GLASS HOUSES ¿ASTÍSAT l^ S T H E it ' s ¿ E R R y^ B p o W ls ffc O lT / OF ÜHOOCUMENTEP IWA'SRfti-JTS iV s T H E DEMOCRATS FAULT/ Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services „THE LIBERAL media ' s FAULT/ „T H E UNIONS VAULT/ Minimum Service CHG $45.00 A sm all distance/travel charge m ay be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area L Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 'WHITMAN Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) LEAVING- btO ST oH E UKWRMEP Stairs (12-16 stairs - With O ther Services): $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool): $40.00 Minimum Who Cleans the Windows of Glass Houses? Many ensnarled by a ‘nanny-gate’ R aul A. R eyes Et tu, Lou? It turns out that Lou D obbs has em ployed u n docum ented w orkers to toil on his estates and tend to his fam ily's num erous horses. The boy for the anti-im m igrant crow d said he w as told the w orkers w ere legal im m igrants. W hat he didn't say, as he did in A pril 2006, w as that "em ployers w ho hire illegal aliens should face felony charges." P erhaps D obbs is getting tips from M eg W hitm an. T he form er e-B ay C E O has spent at least $ 140 m il lion o fh e r ow n m oney trying to becom e the next g overnor o f the G olden State. O n the cam p aig n trail, she pledged to be "tough as nails" on illegal im m igration. She has vow ed to hold em ployers accountable w ith fines, in sp ec tions, and ja il tim e. She has prom ised L atinos "m ás trabajos" (m ore jo b s). T hen her form er hou sek eep er surfaced in public. W hitm an, it turns out, em p lo y ed an undocum ented im m igrant in her hom e for nearly a decade. R ather than accept personal resp o n sibility, W hitm an blam ed the m edia, unions, her opponent, and her ex-m aid for the situation. Sadly, for one L atina, the result w as not m ás trabajos, but no trabajo. P o litic ia n s o f b o th p a rtie s re g u la rly b e by c o m e e n sn a re d in th e ir o w n " n a n n y -g a te s ." N o w o n d e r, sin ce th e P ew C e n te r e stim a te d in 2 0 0 9 th a t 29 p e rc e n t o f th e n a tio n 's h o u s e k e e p e rs are u n d o c u m e n te d . Z o e B aird lost h e r c h a n c e to serv e as B ill C lin to n 's a tto rn e y g e n e ra l b e c a u se o f h e r u n d o c u m e n te d help . L in d a C h a v e z lo st h e r s h o t as G e o rg e W. B u sh 's S e c re ta ry o f L a b o r o v e r h e r u n d o c u m e n te d m aid . Let's review the facts surro u n d in g W hitm an's ho u sek eep er flap. N ican d ra D iaz-S antillan a d m its she lied about h er im m igration status to the agency that W hitm an used to hire her. In 2009, after w orking for W hitm an fo r nine years, D iaz co n fessed she w as illegal. She w as fired. W hitm an claim ed not to have seen the "n o m atch" letters regarding h er h o u sek eep er sent by the Social S ecurity A dm inistration. W hen D iaz pro d u ced one o f these letters, w hich in cluded a handw ritten note by W hitm an's h u s band saying, "N icky, look into this," the g u b er natorial candidate said she didn't recall seeing it. Still, that d oesn't absolve W hitm an o f her re sponsibilities as an em p lo y er, esp ecially co n sidering she is a can d id ate w ho touts h er savvy business skills. O n ce sh e le arn ed D ia z w as u n d o c u m e n te d , W h itm a n h ad a d u ty to n o tify im m ig ra tio n a u th o ritie s . S he d id n 't d o th a t, d e sp ite h e r re le n tle ss c a m p a ig n m e ssa g e o f h o ld in g e m p lo y e rs re sp o n sib le fo r h irin g illeg al w o rk ers. So e ith e r W h itm a n c o n s id e rs h e r s e lf a b o v e th e law o r sh e w as k n o w in g ly b re a k in g it. I Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) w o u ld h a rd ly c a ll th is b e in g "to u g h as n a ils" on illeg al im m ig ratio n . W hitm an m aintains she didn't turn D iaz in because she w as "a friend and a m em b er o f my extended fam ily." R eally? W hen h er h o u se k e e p e r a d m itte d sh e w as u n d o c u m e n te d , W hitm an axed her on the spot. G iven that W hitm an has broken spending records in her q u est to b eco m e C alifornia's next governor, couldn't she have helped her housekeeper o u t.. .a little? A co n su ltatio n \yith an im m igration atto r ney m ig h t have co st $200. A pparently, D iaz's plight w asn 't w orth the trouble to the Silicon V alley billionaire. F o r those w ho rail against "am nesty" for illegal im m igrants, these co n tro v ersies expose tre m e n d o u s h y p o c ris y . In th e D o b b s an d W hitm an cases, w e see once again that im m ig ra tion is a personal as w ell as a political problem , one that can only be so lv ed through co m p re h e n siv e re fo rm , n o t " g e t-to u g h " rh e to ric . W hitm an's "en fo rcem en t o n ly /n o am n esty " is a bad p olicy for C alifo rn ia. A nd she offers no solution to one o f the m ost con ten tio u s issues o f the im m igration debate: w hat to do w ith the m illions o f und o cu m en ted w orkers w ho are al ready here? A m azingly, W hitm an still do esn 't get it. E ven after this co n tro v ersy arose, she has continued to insist on holding em p lo y ers accountable. She m ight as w ell add, ex cep t if it's her. Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and columnist in New York City. 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