Two GOP candidates have found themselves in a lengthy debate between each other concerning where they stand on the issue of immigration.  The Washington Post reports that Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani have recently been focusing their campaign stops and radio ads to accuse each other of supporting efforts to give undocumented immigrants sanctuary from federal immigration laws.  

Romney started the fight, as his advisers would like to brand their candidate as the true conservative in the race, compared to Giuliani.  Romney has said that New York , under Giuliani’s leadership, became a magnet for illegal immigrants when city officials refused to strictly enforce federal deprtation laws.  Giuilani fired back, accusing Romney of looking the other way as cities and towns in Massachusetts declared themselves ‘sanctuaries’ for lawbreakers.  Both sides have had Congressmen write scathing opinion piece’s on the other’s immigration stances (Rep. Peter King wrote a piece attacking Romney, and Rep. Lamar Smith, wrote a piece attacking Giuliani).

"They are trying to rattle their sabers louder than the other and thump on their chests," said Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum.  "Both of these guys are trying to remake themselves."  

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GOP Presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo ( Colo. ) said last week that fellow GOP presidential candidates are increasingly mimicking his hard-line stance on immigration.  "I’m happy now that almost every one of my colleagues, standing up there on the stage, running for the Republican nomination, is sounding like Tom Tancredo when it comes to illegal immigration," the congressman said.  

Despite the similar stance to Tancredo, the Colorado congressman wants the tough talk of GOP candidates to be "more than just rhetoric."   

According to Washington ’s The Hill, Tancredo has lately cited Newark in his assault against sanctuary cities; the New Jersey city was in the news regarding an undocumented immigrant involved in a high-profile murder case.  "Hundreds and hundreds of people die in this country, or are robbed, or are raped, every single year by someone who is here illegally." Tancredo told MSNBC.  "We have to begin punishing these cities in some way or it’s going to spread all over this country and we are all going to be in jeopardy as a result of it."