Secretary Of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff Unwittingly Hired Illegal Immigrants

The Secretary of Homeland Security, — a.k.a the top immigration official in the U.S. — Michael Chertoff, was shocked to hear that he was employing illegal immigrants as house cleaners. “Ha,” We said, “Ha ha ha.” And then we made a sandwich out of delicious irony and ate it. We already told you how arrests of both the managers who hire undocumented workers and workers themselves have been soaring, but this marks a truly beautiful moment in history- a moment where Americans are stared right back in the face by the unacknowledged hypocrisy of villifying undocumented labor while ignoring the fact that we all depend on it.

James Reid, the owner of the cleaning service who hired these undocumented workers, is now facing a large fine, and he’s pissed that he’s the one getting the blame and not the Homeland Security Department. He is accused of failing to have some of his workers fill out the appropriate verification paperwork as well as failing to check identification. Ok duh, he must have known that some of his employees weren’t legal, but Reid made the good point that if they were cleared by the Secret Service agents (who vet all employees who come to work at Chertoff’s house), then one would assume they were legal. Apparently the Secret Service can’t distinguish fake documents from real ones, so that’s good to know.

Chertoff is of course declining to comment on all of this- when asked about what he thought of Reid’s criticism, his only response was to explain, helpfully;

“We’re very constrained in what we can say about anybody who has any kind of issue with the department.”

Reid’s service has also sent cleaners to the Clintons, Madeleine Albright and various Bush cabinet members.

Indocumentados limpiaban casa de jefe de la Migra [El Diario NY]

Cleaning Firm Used Illegal Workers at Chertoff Home [Washington Post]