Romney Campaign Press Release - "The Most Successful" Sanctuary City

Mayor Giuliani Praises His Policies Of Protecting Illegal Immigrants

"Today's statement by Mayor Giuliani that his sanctuary policies toward illegal aliens created an 'orderly' and 'lawful' society turns logic on its head. You don't promote a lawful society by condoning illegality. As governor, I opposed driver's licenses for illegals, vetoed tuition breaks for illegals and combatted sanctuary city policies by authorizing the state police to enforce federal immigration law. As president, I will secure the border and reject sanctuary policies by cities, states or the federal government." - Gov. Mitt Romney

Today, Mayor Giuliani Praised His Sanctuary City Policies, Calling Them "Successful":


Giuliani Claimed His Sanctuary Policies Protecting Illegals Immigrants Were "The Most Successful." "Back on track regarding the subject of illegal immigration Giuliani said, 'The policies that I utilized with regard to illegal immigration (in New York City) were, in the context of overall policies, probably were the most successful in the history of the country in creating an orderly, legal, lawful society.'" (Jan Simmonds, "Giuliani On Why He Can End Illegal Immigration, Why Others Can't," ABC News' Political Radar Blog, http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar, Posted 11/19/07)

Mayor Giuliani Ran New York City With A Sanctuary State Of Mind:


As Mayor, Giuliani Actually Invited More Illegal Immigrants To Come To New York In 1994. "Mr. Giuliani said, 'If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city. You're somebody that we want to protect, and we want you to get out from under what is often a life of being like a fugitive, which is really unfair.'" (Deborah Sontag, "New York Officials Welcome Immigrants, Legal Or Illegal," The New York Times, 6/10/94)

- ABC News: "Giuliani Inherited The [Sanctuary] Policy, He Reissued It And Seemed To Embrace It." "New York became a sanctuary city, where illegal immigrants enjoy some measure of protection, through an executive order signed by Mayor Ed Koch in 1989, five years before Giuliani became mayor in January 1994. But if Giuliani inherited the policy, he reissued it and seemed to embrace it." (Jake Tapper and Ron Claiborne, "Romney: Giuliani's NYC 'Sanctuary' For Illegal Immigrants," ABC News, 8/8/07)

A 1997 New York Daily News Editorial Blasted Mayor Giuliani For Not Supporting Federal Immigration Laws. "Mayor Giuliani is actually suing the federal government to be relieved of the requirement that city workers turn over information about illegal immigrants to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. At City University, undocumented aliens qualify for the low resident tuition if they've lived here for a year. And just last week, the mayor announced that immigrants applying for marriage licenses couldn't be turned away even if their visas had expired." (Editorial, "Not All Immigrants Are Equal," [New York] Daily News, 3/23/97)

- Daily News: Under Mayor Giuliani, "Illegal" Didn't Have Any Meaning. "But at the same time, federal immigration laws must be enforced strictly. For no nation can allow its borders to be violated with impunity. And state and local governments must help. In New York, that means making the adjective 'illegal' mean something when it appears before the word 'immigrant.' ... In other words, legal or illegal, the law makes no distinction. Then what's the law for?" (Editorial, "Not All Immigrants Are Equal," [New York] Daily News, 3/23/97)

Mayor Giuliani Refused To Do His Part To Stem The Tide Of Illegal Immigration:


Mayor Giuliani Has Defended His City's Sanctuary Policy, Saying, "'The Choice Becomes For A City What Do You Do?" "'The reality is that they are here, and they're going to remain here,' Mr. Giuliani said of the children. 'The choice becomes for a city what do you do? Allow them to stay on the streets or allow them to be educated? The preferred choice from the point of view of New York City is to be educated.'" (Eric Schmitt, "Giuliani Criticizes G.O.P. And Dole On Immigration," The New York Times, 6/7/96)

- Mayor Giuliani's Attitude Was That Nothing Could Be Done About Illegals, So You Might As Well Give Sanctuary. "'The reality is that they are here, and they're going to remain here,' Mr. Giuliani said of the children. 'The choice becomes for a city what do you do? Allow them to stay on the streets or allow them to be educated? The preferred choice from the point of view of New York City is to be educated.'" (Eric Schmitt, "Giuliani Criticizes G.O.P. And Dole On Immigration," The New York Times, 6/7/96)

- Mayor Giuliani: Nobody But The Federal Government Should Take Responsibility For Illegal Immigration. "Responsibility for stopping illegal immigration belongs to the federal government and not to cities, states or businesses, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Tuesday. Giuliani told small-business owners he would not punish them for unwittingly hiring illegal immigrants. Federal officials are 'trying to put the responsibility for this on employers, on city government, on state government,' the former New York mayor said during a conference call arranged by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. 'The simple fact is, nobody but the federal government can stop people from coming into this country illegally, and the federal government does a very bad job of that,' Giuliani said." (Libby Quaid, "Giuliani: Illegals Are A Federal Problem, The Associated Press, 10/31/07)

Mayor Giuliani Still Supports Amnesty For Illegal Immigrants Today:


Mayor Giuliani, To Illegal Immigrants In 2007: "If You Want To Work, Pay Your Fair Share And We'll Sign You Up." "In response to a question by Richard Pope, 75, about the 12 million illegal immigrants already here, Giuliani said, 'I would say come forward, get your ... tamper-proof ID card, get photographed and fingerprinted, and we will check you out.' He added, 'If you want to work, pay your fair share and we'll sign you up.'" (Tom Brune, "Giuliani Vows To End Illegal Immigration," [New York] Newsday, 8/15/07)

- Mayor Giuliani: Give A Path To Citizenship To Illegal Aliens Who Have Not Committed Other Crimes. " Mr. Giuliani said the rest of the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens already here can gain a path to citizenship after a waiting period if they register and learn English. Those key elements generally track President Bush's immigration bill, which was defeated in the Senate earlier this year." (Stephen Dinan, "Giuliani Eyes Citizenship Path For Illegals," The Washington Times, 8/15/07)

- "Rudy Giuliani Would Allow Most Of The Estimated 12 Million Illegal Immigrants In This Country To Stay, Work And Even Become Citizens – Provisions That GOP Hardliners Blast As 'Amnesty.'" (Tom Brune, "Giuliani Vows To End Illegal Immigration," [New York] Newsday, 8/15/07)