Nicky Diaz

Nicandra ("Nicky") Díaz-Santillán is a Union City, California domestic worker and undocumented Mexican immigrant who emerged as a national face of immigrant labor rights when she revealed her status during the 2010 California gubernatorial election. The timing of the case has led Whitman to allege her opponent had ties to Díaz-Santillán and was using the case as an October surprise in the election.
Background
According to a Pew Hispanic Center report, Mexicans make up 57 percent of immigrants present in the United States illegally. About 80 to 85 percent of the immigration from Mexico and Central America in recent years has been illegal.
2010 California gubernatorial election issue
The New York Times noted that Jerry Brown is a Democrat in a state that is "growing increasingly Democratic", while Meg Whitman was "drawn to the right in her attempt to win the Republican primary, particularly on the issue of illegal immigration." The 2010 gubernatorial election was still a "tight race" with a large block of undecided voters when the two main candidates, Whitman and Brown held their first debate in September which mostly focussed on the economy, the state's budget woes and employment issues. The day after the first debate Diaz-Santillan, represented by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, held a press conference stating she was employed by Whitman for nine years, until 2009, and said she was terminated after asking for help to become a legal resident, “I wanted her to help me to get an immigration attorney". Whitman released a statement that Diaz-Santillan put false information on her application and that the allegations were politically motivated.
Political observers say the housekeeper's revelation is a signal of the anger of some in the Latino community towards Republicans in the wake of as well as California's Proposition 187 which would prohibit illegal immigrants from using health care, public education, and other social services in the state. Whitman has variously voiced support and opposition for both laws. During the campaign, she ran a radio ad entitled "Tough as Nails" in which she stated her position on illegal immigration as "I am 100 percent against amnesty for illegal immigrants. Period. As governor, I will crack down on so-called sanctuary cities like San Francisco who thumb their nose at our laws. Illegal immigrants should not expect benefits from the State of California. No driver’s license and no admission to state-funded institutions of higher education. And I’ll create an economic fence to crack down on employers who break the law by using illegal labor." In June 2010 Whitman released two Spanish-language television ads during World Cup 2010 stating, “She respects our community. She’s the Republican who opposes the Arizona law, and she opposed Proposition 187.” At California's first Spanish-language debate in Fresno, "demonstrators held brooms and other cleaning supplies to show solidarity with Diaz."
According to Diaz-Santillan, when Whitman reportedly found out in June, 2009, she fired Diaz-Santillan, telling her, "you don't know me and I don't know you." Diaz-Santillan said that Whitman "made me feel like a piece of garbage," which sent "shock waves through Latino communities, which Whitman had been courting as a voting bloc she needs for electoral success."
Whitman acknowledged she told her political consultants of the housekeeper's case in 2009. On September 29, Allred filed a claim for Diaz-Santillan with the California Department of Industrial Relations that alleges $6,210 is owed for hours of work and mileage costs.

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