Andrea Mitchell: Mitt Romney's Mexican Relatives 'Crossed the Border Illegally'

In the past few days, there's been a lot of discussion about Mitt Romney's relatives in Mexico.

On this weekend's syndicated Chris Matthews Show, NBC's Andrea Mitchell said, "The Romneys that came back from Mexico to the United States, they crossed the border illegally" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

ANDREA MITCHELL: And looking ahead to the next primary in Florida, 30 percent of the Hispanic community is Cuban-American. That’s a smaller proportion, and so the Hispanic community there is different. And they are less prone to be susceptible to Mitt Romney’s really hard line on immigration, more prone to the Newt Gingrich approach to immigration. The other interesting little fact is about the Mexican Romneys, those looking back at all of those records say that Mitt Romney should look back at the records because the Romneys that came back from Mexico to the United States, they crossed the border illegally.

NPR reported on Romney's Mexican lineage Sunday, but said nothing about any of his relatives coming to America illegally.

It will be interesting to see whether Mitchell's claim has any merit or is just damning speculation on her part.

Stay tuned.

*****Update: After seeing our report, James Crugnale of Mediaite contacted NPR's John Burnett regarding his piece Sunday. "Burnett told Mediaite he did not come across any docs indicating the Gaskell Romney family came to the US illegally, noting they were part of an exodus of 1,200 Mormons from Mexico."

Crugnale also uncovered a CNN.com article that supports Burnett's assertions.

Add it all up, and it appears Mitchell was all wet.

Associate Editor’s note: As you are likely aware, since the financial collapse of 2008, charities and non-profit organizations have seen a sharp reduction in donations. Although the environment has improved, contributions are still nowhere near where they were prior to the recession. Unfortunately, the Media Research Center has not been immune. With this in mind, your support has become more important than ever. With a critical election approaching, the liberal media needs to be monitored 24/7. As we have been predicting for months, the press are willing to do anything to get their beloved politicians elected and/or reelected. As such, we need your help to fight this fight. Any contribution, even $10, is greatly appreciated. Please consider a tax-deductible gift to the Media Research Center to help us battle the liberal media. Thank you.