1/08/01 12:50 p.m.
The Chavez Controversy
She didn’t hire an illegal immigrant.

By John J. Miller, NR's national political reporter

ecretary of Labor-nominee Linda Chavez did not hire an illegal immigrant to work for her as she has been accused of doing in media reports yesterday and today.

I speak from personal, firsthand knowledge of the situation. I worked for Chavez for five years, starting in 1992, when Chavez was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. I knew Marta, the woman whose relationship with Chavez is currently in question.

Although the Manhattan Institute had an office in downtown Washington, D.C., Chavez worked primarily out of her home in Bethesda, MD. I also worked there every weekday for a period of six or eight weeks in December 1992 and January 1993. Marta was staying with Chavez's family at this time, and many days we were in the house together.

I knew from the start that Marta was a houseguest. She certainly was not an employee. If she had been, I would have seen her working — cleaning out Chavez's office, mopping the kitchen floor, vacuuming the carpets. I never saw her do any of these things. I did see her perform an occasional chore, such as washing the dishes. When she did this, it was clear she was pitching in the way a family member or houseguest would. She had a room of her own, and I recall her spending some time in it. Also, there were days when she was not in the home.

Some have hinted that Marta may have worked as a nanny. Again, this is not true. For one thing, I never saw her do this. For another, Chavez's children were too old for that kind of attention; the youngest must have been 13 or 14 years old at the time. Besides, Chavez herself was usually home, and immediately available to family members.

There are many things I didn't know about Marta — the circumstances under which she came to Chavez, her legal status, and so on. Frankly, I never thought about them. But I can say unequivocally that she was not an employee. I 'm absolutely certain of this.

Chavez has a history of helping those in need: She's taken in Vietnamese refugees, and she's currently putting two Puerto Rican children through parochial school in New York City. Her behavior with Marta is part of a pattern, and it's one the rest of us should celebrate and admire.

A lot of people — myself included — have wondered what compassionate conservatism is, and how to define it. I'm still not sure, but I think I know it when I see it. And this is it.