Illegal Immigrants Say They Remodeled Basement for Congressman Known as Immigration Critic

Associated Press ^ | September 19, 2002 | Jon Sarche

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

DENVER (AP) - A congressman who has been demanding tighter immigration controls is defending himself against allegations that illegal immigrants remodeled his basement. Two employees of a contracting company say they and other illegal immigrants from Latin America helped install a home entertainment center and a bedroom in the Littleton home of Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., The Denver Post reported Thursday.

Last month, after the Post wrote about a young illegal immigrant's struggle to pay for college, Tancredo reported the teen and his family to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

On Thursday, Tancredo said that when the remodeling was done last fall, he never asked about the workers' immigration status.

Even if the workers were in the country illegally, "what is my responsibility at this point in time?" Tancredo said in a telephone interview from Washington. "I go to dinner at restaurants and probably have come into contact with people who are here illegally. I do not ask, of course. It is actually illegal and you can be sued."

The contractor, Creative Drywall Designs, and subcontractor Denver Audio Design said all their employees are in the country legally.

The newspaper said it would not identify the workers because they could get in trouble with INS.

Tancredo said enemies he made in lambasting the INS and in seeking strict enforcement of immigration laws are trying to discredit him.

"The fact is that I am a controversial figure," he said. "I have rankled the feathers of people who are immigration support groups and illegal immigrants themselves, so I am not surprised that somebody might make this accusation to embarrass me."

Tancredo called the INS after reading about honor student Jesus Apodaca and his family, illegal immigrants from Mexico who live in Denver. The congressman said INS officials told him they did not have the resources to try to take the family into custody.

Tancredo has pushed for use of troops to guard the borders.

"It is the government's responsibility to enforce our immigration laws, and if the INS were doing its job, no illegal immigrant would be available to violate our labor laws," Tancredo said in the Post.

[PRND21]

See #174. Brilliant, actually.

[usadave]

By the way, the latest poll results from the Denver Post website in which the following question is asked: "What's your view of U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo?".

Very Favorable: 6,789 votes (out of 8,402 votes) = 81%

[PRND21]

Nice poll. Again, it seems to be a question of honesty.

Hey, do we keep on FReeping or do we stop at 80%?

I tried clearing all my cookies 3 times and I'm still blocked from voting. Maybe this is happening to others, as well.

Vote again and repeat cycle ad infinitum.

Bump for Justice.

[gunshy]

And I am sure that you check the employment records of your local grocery store, gas station, bank, newspaper, radio station, garbage collection, television etc, yada yada ad nauseum. You really do, don't you, I do.

[B Knotts]

Something is indeed amiss. The Denver Post printed a libelous article based on anonymous sources who had an axe to grind. They should have known better.

[gunshy]

What good does it do to check all the employment records, the INS won't deport them anyway, they may vote republican.

[gunshy]

I think your real objection here is that this may cost republicans some of the illegal votes. Which branch of the republicrat party are you with, the liberal branch or the liberal branch.

[gunshy]

Golly, we better be careful, the pubbies might lose some of the illegal mexican vote. Wouldn't want that to happen now would we?.

[gunshy]

Glad to see that your morals rank right up there with the democrats.

[kilohertz]

Businessman denies charges
Drywall installer angrily challenges illegal-alien claim
By Heather Draper And M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News
September 20, 2002

So the contractor says he didn't use illegals. And the Denver Post has what against that, two "anonymous sources?" Should we just take the DP's word for it?

[Black Agnes]

But of course. Liberals with an agenda would *never* lie, would they? *laugh*

[gunshy]

You obviously should not engage in a debate when you know nothing of which you speak. Tancredo is a member of the house, not the senate.

[PRND21]

Denver Audio currently only has one employee on its payroll, store manager Brett Olkowski, who said he was born in Buffalo, N.Y.

Seems they are covering up more than walls.

[gunshy]

Do you really suppose that GWB has verified the legal status of all the people who have worked for his campaigns, much less the volunteers? Get real, you're just afraid that the pubbies will lose the illegal mexican vote.

[gunshy]

I'd say that it was worth at least a buck.

[gunshy]

Ask the employer for copies of the employment documents of all employees that will be working on your task. If they are reluctant to provide the copies, tell them that you'll find someone else. (That's usually a solid hint that they have reason to doubt the veracity of the papers.) Next, check the SSNs with the Social Security Administration. If the number is invalid, stop right there and fire the contractor. If the number is valid, check the first three digits to see if they're from your immediate area, and ask the SSA to make sure if the account is getting FICA taxes from one region only. A non-English-speaking laborer with an SSN issued in Montana is a touch dubious.

And I am sure you do this every time you go to McDonalds or Burger King to get some fries and/or a coke. Sure you do.

Just another principled republican.

[gunshy]

So far, I haven't caught anyone using a real SSN, but I've caught some fakes.

I am sure that you reported these people to the INS and the IRS. You did, didn't you.

[MissAmericanPie]

I would tend to believe the contractor, some have their doubts. The DP should come forward with either the evidence to back up their story, or they should retract their story.

[WRhine]

I check paper on anyone coming into my house to do work. There's a very technical word to describe the individual who doesn't do that. That word is "stupid."

Another definition of "stupid" would be a very obvious Open Borders Liberal that thinks that even after years of shamelessly defending the side of illegal immigration they would be taken seriously when they say they check the "papers" of anyone coming to their house to do work.

Who are YOU trying to KID? Yeah, its the internet. You can say just about anything. Who is going to check? Right?

[WRhine]

Seems they are covering up more than walls.

Their credibility is infinitely greater than yours. BTW, since you are such a fan of the illegal immigration invasion what may I ask do you do for a living? Seems that you have a vested interest in seeing that the invasion of our country by Mexico continues ad infinitum. Spell it out Creep.