Whitman: Housekeeper should be deported

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Republican California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman says the undocumented housekeeper she employed for nine years should be deported.

When the scandal hit the Whitman campaign in September, she said both she and a hiring agency relied on documents that were revealed to be false, and that she fired Nicandra Diaz Santillan when her immigration status became known last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In an interview Wednesday, Whitman was asked if she thought Diaz Santillan should be deported.

"Well, the answer is: It breaks my heart, but she should be deported, because she forged documents and she lied about her immigration status," Whitman said.

Before Wednesday, Whitman had declined to say whether Diaz Santillan should be deported, saying it was a matter for federal authorities and that she was reluctant to make an example of someone she called "a member of our extended family."

The Service Employees International Union, which supports Whitman's opponent Jerry Brown, released a statement criticizing Whitman's apparent turnaround on the question.

Whitman was "making a desperate attempt to pander to the right in the last five days of the election," the statement said.