A New York luxury hotel says it does not knowingly employ illegal immigrants, despite a suggestion by Hillary Clinton that it does.
The former secretary of state spoke at a gala for the New York Historical Society at the Mandarin Oriental hotel on November 21. During a Q&A session, Clinton, who received an honor from the organization, praised President Obama’s recently announced executive order on immigration that will give around 5 million illegal immigrants legal status. Calling the executive order “historic,” she urged the black-tie crowd to remember that “this is about peoples’ lives.”
“This is about, I would venture to guess, the people who served us tonight, who prepared our food tonight,” Clinton said, according to MSNBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald.
But a spokesperson for the Mandarin Oriental disputes Clinton’s suggestion that the executive order would be extended to any of the hotel’s employees.
“Mandarin Oriental, New York does not knowingly employ illegal and/or undocumented immigrants. We require all employees to provide proof of their eligibility to legally work in the U.S.,” said Tammy Peters, a spokesperson for the hotel, in an email to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “All wait staff and catering staff are employed through our hotel and we do not use outside contractors for such services.”
It is not clear why Clinton was under the impression illegal immigrants were serving or preparing food for the fete. The Sheraton in New York hosts the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting, but a request to that hotel for a comment on the legal status of its employees was not returned.
