Remember during the CNN/Youtube debate when Rudy Guiliani took instant jabs against Mitt Romney for hiring a landscaping firm that had Illegals on the work roster. Romney disputed the claim by saying he didn’t ask the company about the status of its works.

Here is the update from Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday fired a landscaping company for using illegal immigrants to work on his lawn, a week after a tussle with rival Rudy Giuliani over the issue.

Romney said in a statement released by his campaign that he had given the company, Community Lawn Service of Chelsea, Massachusetts, a second chance last year to get rid of its undocumented workers, but it had failed to do so.

“Today I fired a landscaping company that I learned was employing people who are not permitted to work here in the United States,” the former governor of Massachusetts said.

Honest Questions: If its known that this company hires ‘undocumented workers’ shouldn’t there be some sort of investigation, fines, and possible deportation of the workers? Isn’t that how the current law works?

Update I:
Boston Globe has the full story. In short, a day after Rudy made his claims the illegals continued their yard work.

Standing on stage at a Republican debate on the Gulf Coast of Florida last week, Mitt Romney repeatedly lashed out at rival Rudy Giuliani for providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants in New York City.

Yet, the very next morning, on Thursday, 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.

In fact, their work was part of a regular pattern. Despite a Globe story in Dec. 2006 that highlighted Romney’s use of illegal immigrants to tend to his lawn, Romney continued to employ the same landscaping company – until today. The landscaping company, in turn, continued to employ illegal immigrants.

Two of the workers confirmed in separate interviews with Globe reporters last week that they were in the country without documents. One said he had paid $7,000 to a smuggler to escort him across the desert into Arizona; the other said he had come to the country with a student visa that was now expired. Both were seen on the lawn by either Globe reporters or photographers over the last two months.

Oops. This isn’t good.

Update II:

From Romney’s campaign website on Illegal Immigration:

Improve Interior Enforcement. Provide resources to enforce immigration laws throughout the nation, and crackdown on employers who continue to hire illegals with stiffer fines and penalties.

Implement An Enforceable Employer Verification System. Issue a biometrically-enabled and tamperproof card to non-citizens and create a national database for non-citizens so employers can easily verify their legal status in this country.

So, would he have caught this sooner if the verification system was in place? OR would that be up to the employer to implement fully and verify?

“And you have to say to employers that hire people illegally, ‘That’s also going to be sanctioned.’ This is the way we’re going to have to finally end it.” (Fox News, Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, Durham, NH, 9/5/07)

I think Romney should slap himself on the wrist and donate a million dollars to some Border-related organization. Whether its the minute men or the border patrol.