Ana Padilla, a Nevada woman who immigrated from Guatemala illegally in 1986, has come forward to claim that Nevada GOP gubernatorial nominee Brian Sandoval employed her while she was undocumented, and “never asked me for documentation.” Padilla, who has since obtained U.S. citizenship, said she cleaned Sandoval’s house every Monday for more than six months, often while Sandoval was home, but that his family “never asked for her legal status or mentioned an I-9 form needed for Social Security taxes.” Padilla said she was initially excited about Sandoval’s candidacy, and wanted to help him. But once she learned about his right-wing stance on immigration, she decided to go public with her story:
Nearly 13 years later, Ana and her seven children are now U.S. citizens. She told us she had not seen the Sandovals since working for them, until she caught a gubernatorial debate on television. “I was so happy. I told my husband, ‘look, it is Mr. Sandoval.’ I’m going to be in the Republican Party and see if we can help him.”
Ana says she was happy to see another Latino running for office. She says that elation turned to disappointment when she heard Sandoval say he does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants. “In the time I worked with him, he supported me,” said Padilla. “Now he says he does not support Latinos that are already here?”
Ana says she no longer supports anyone in the gubernatorial race. She says she is coming out about this now, because she wants people to know what Sandoval stands for.
The Sandoval campaign has flatly denied Padilla’s charges, blaming them on his Democratic opponent Rory Reid. “Brian and Kathleen do not know this person. Obviously, this is another desperate and dishonest attack by Rory Reid’s failing campaign. It is further proof that Rory will say anything to get elected,” a statement said. Channel 2 News in Reno noted that they “did not learn of this story from the Reid campaign” but rather from an appearance Padilla made on a local Spanish radio station.
Sandoval, who is Latino, has taken a hard line on immigration to appeal to right-wing GOP primary voters. He supports Arizona’s harsh immigration law and, ironically, has advocated for cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. He also opposes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, “now or ever.”
Of course, Sandoval’s fellow Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman in California — who is has also taken a hard-right stance on immigration — was recently implicated in a similar scandal after her former housekeeper came forward saying Whitman’s family employed her for years, despite knowing she was undocumented. (HT: Huffington Post)
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