WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2007
Giuliani And Romney Spar Over Immigration
Romney Accuses Rival Of Making New York City Too Welcoming To Illegal Immigrants
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Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani holds up a card as an example of what a federal identification card should be like at a town hall meeting in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)
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Republican presidential hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, left, and Mitt Romney (AP)
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Interactive Immigration And Naturalization Who's coming to America? Find out what's being done to screen for terrorists and take a citizenship quiz.
It's the first real clash between two leading Republican candidates who are vulnerable on immigration, a volatile issue that infuriates Republican conservatives who hold sway over primary elections.
At issue are so-called sanctuary cities, places where city employees are not required to report illegal immigrants to federal authorities. Some, such as San Francisco, have declared themselves sanctuaries or refuges. Others, like New York, have never adopted the "sanctuary" moniker.
New York's policy, issued by Democratic Mayor Ed Koch in 1988, is intended to make illegal immigrants feel that they can report crimes, send their children to school or seek medical treatment without fear of being reported.
An estimated half-million illegal and undocumented immigrants live in New York, and only a fraction are deported each year.
"What's the best thing to do about that?" Giuliani asked in 1996. "Put them in a situation in which they keep children out of school? Put them in a situation in which they don't go to hospitals? Or put them in a situation in which they don't report crimes to the police?"
Giuliani went to court to preserve the policy, suing over a 1996 attempt by Congress to undo the city's protections. He lost, but Mayor Mike Bloomberg later issued a new, broader version of the policy that is still in effect.
In the presidential campaign, Giuliani and Romney are talking tough on immigration, even opposing the bipartisan immigration overhaul backed by President Bush. Yet their records are not necessarily tough. For example:
Immigration inflames conservatives in early voting states such as Iowa and South Carolina, where some argue that illegal immigrants are straining schools and hospitals, lowering wages or taking jobs from law-abiding citizens.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- marcodele THEY ALL say what the polls want them to say. There isn''t one running prepared to stand tough on immigration. There isn''t one running prepared to pull the plug on government assistance for the illegals. They don''t have a clear enough picture of just exactly what that translates into as far as votes go.
It''s just a game or a job interview to them. They aren''t really passionate about any issue. Rudy thought he could ride the 9/11 free pass to the election. He forgot about all the people he stepped all over during his reign of terror on anyone beneath him...and unless you were eye to eye with him on every single agenda item, and could afford to dine with him out on the town, you were beneath him. Mitt thinks his record and good looks will support him. *** those record keepers who didn''t hide the truth about things he wanted to forget!
There isn''t one running who deserves to be President. They''ve all been at this long enough to be corrupt. Once again, we will be forced to vote for the least offensive of the bunch. That sucks. - Reply to this comment
- Romney''s got that varmint gun out again. Come on boys, your both right...neither one of you has done squat.
Posted by realpatriot1 at 02:44 PM : Aug 15, 2007
I couldn''t have said it better myself. I am just hoping that someone shows up in the race for Prez that I can actually feel good about voting for. I am really tired of voting for the best of the worst. - Reply to this comment
- fixed?
- Reply to this comment
- Immigration inflames conservatives in early voting states such as Iowa and South Carolina, where some argue that illegal immigrants are straining schools and hospitals, lowering wages or taking jobs from law-abiding citizens.
It certainly inflamed the parents of those three young teenagers who were killed execution style in a schoolyard in Newark. What made it even worse was the S.O.B. was a pedophile who molested a 4 year old for 5 years and the Judge, Judge Vena, let him out on bail. Then he comes upon some nice decent kids home from college enjoying each other's company and they get killed. Let's elect some more of those liberal judges, let's make sure we have more sanctuary states where illegals can rest their weary heads at the expense of the taxpayers. I mean we certainly don't want them to become the g.a.y.s of 2008. And these two bookends, better get their act together. - Reply to this comment
- Romney v Guiliani ....
Now that should be fun! Which one can out-flipflop the other! - Reply to this comment
- I hope it doesn't become a hate fest since immigrants appear to be the g.a.y.s. of 2008.
- Reply to this comment
- Romney says whatever the polls say he should say.
Once again the presidency will go to the highest bidder. - Reply to this comment
- Romney is right just check out U tube Rudy asking, asking well begging illegal to come to NY telling them they would be protected but the weasel did have the balls to declare the city so the voters the rightes would know he was an illegal lover. They did get charged with crimes or reported they were protected.
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- This says it all about Rudy:
Jimmy Riches, a deputy fire chief who spent months digging at ground zero for his firefighter son, scoffs at the very notion that Giuliani was at ground zero long enough to risk his health.
"The longest time I saw him down there was when President Bush came to the site," said Riches. "He doesn't care about the first responders, he did nothing to help them when he was in office or after. He didn't give us respirators until November." - Reply to this comment
- Romney's got that varmint gun out again. Come on boys, your both right...neither one of you has done squat.
- Reply to this comment
Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
