Romney Swipes at Huckabee and Giuliani on Immigration

Mike Huckabee’s record on immigration “is a real problem for him,” Mitt Romney told Joe Scarborough today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“He’s now talking about an entirely different tact he’d take as president,” Romney said, pointing out that while governor of Arkansas, Huckabee fought to provide an in-state tuition break for illegals. “He also fought for scholarships for illegals and if you create benefits like that for the children of those who come here illegally, you basically are creating a magnet that draws people across the border or draws them to overstay their visas. That’s the wrong thing for America.”

Romney says he’s proud of his own record on immigration while governor of Massachusetts. He claims he took every action he knew to stop illegal immigration, including denying driver’s licenses to illegals, denying them a tuition break in the state university system, and empowering state police to enforce federal immigration laws.

“But at the same time, I tried to help legal immigrants. I pushed for additional funding for ‘English as a second language.’ To be successful in America, you’ve got to speak the language of America.”

Romney also took a shot at former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani: “[It’s] essential to a nation of liberty and prosperity, to have laws and the rule of law. You can’t have people who are running states, or for that matter cities like New York City, who put in place sanctuary policies that encourage people to come here and not follow the law.”