Republicans trade blows on immigration

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Leading Republican U.S. presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani are accusing one another of being soft on illegal immigration.

Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, and Giuliani, a former New York mayor, have accused one another at campaign stops and in radio ads of supporting programs that would protect illegal immigrants from federal immigration laws, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Romney claimed that under Giuliani's tenure, New York became a haven for undocumented residents because city officials didn't strictly enforce federal deportation laws. Giuliani said Romney failed to prevent cities in Massachusetts from declaring themselves "sanctuaries" for immigration lawbreakers.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said in a Washington Times opinion column on behalf of Giuliani that Romney failed to act against sanctuary cities when he was governor.

"Mr. Romney did not cut their funding. He recommended millions of dollars in state funding for them, and made no attempt to force these cities to change their policies," King wrote. "When the immigration issue came before him, he simply ignored it."