Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman Fires Illegal Housekeeper

CALIFORNIA, September 29, 2010 -An attorney for Nicky Diaz Santillan, the former housekeeper of California Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, claimed today that Whitman was aware of Santillan's status as an illegal immigrant and fired the housekeeper when she asked for help.

She alleges that Ms. Whitman was aware of her status, and may have understood that she was vulnerable because of it," Allred said. Allred also suggested Whitman was engaged in a game of "don't ask, don't tell" to "exploit her while pretending that she didn't know the truth about her status."

It was, Allred said, "cold and heartless treatment of a hardworking Latina."

Allred then turned the microphone over to Santillan, who had to leave the room before making her statement. She then came back and spoke through tears, Allred's arm around her.
Santillan said she asked Whitman for help in finding an immigration attorney in June 2009, and explained to her that she moved from Mexico because she had "no job, no food, no place to live, and for that reason we made a decision to move here."

Whitman terminated her not long after she made the appeal, Santillan said, telling her, "don't say anything to my children, I will tell them you already have a new job and that you want to go to school and from now on, you don't know me and I don't know you. You never have seen me, and I have never seen you. Do you understand me?"

Whitman "treat me as if I was not a human being," Santillan added, suggesting the candidate was "throwing me away like a piece of garbage."

"I know there are a lot of Megs out there who are mistreating the Nickys who work so hard for them," she said.

In the press conference, Allred referenced letters that came to the Whitman house concerning the fact that the social security number on file for Santillan was not valid, though she declined to discuss whether Santillan had provided a false social security number.

Allred also denied that the announcement was politically motivated and said she is "prepared to give you a document in support of our allegations," though she did not say what that document is. She said she would release the document if necessary after Whitman responds to the specifics of her claims.

"If Whitman considered Santillan a part of her extended family, completely washing her hands of Santillan after nine years upon hearing she was an undocumented worker can be perceived as an uncaring billionaire trying to avoid a housekeepergate situation as she considered running for public office,"

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