Giuliani's immigration stance
Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:17 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Republicans
From NBC’s Carrie Dann
It's a bold goal, but Giuliani insists it's possible.
"We can end illegal immigration. I promise you, we can end illegal immigration," the former New York City mayor said this morning in South Carolina, where, armed with PowerPoint slides and an emphasis on his experience as mayor of one of America's most diverse cities, he laid out his plan to reform immigration and close the porous national borders.
Giuliani focused on high-tech solutions like massive databases to track immigrants, as well as measures to encourage assimilation. He described how the creation of physical and "technological" fences, which would use heat and motion-sensing devices, could block the flow of illegals across the border.
Giuliani acknowledged that his plan for border security would be pricey to enact, but was adamant that his plans are realistic and that the results will be worth it.
"Tracking that information and having a single database of all non-citizens is considerably less information than many credit card companies now track," he said. "None of this technology is like science fiction."
Giuliani outlined how requirements for English proficiency and tamper-proof ID cards would encourage legal immigrants to participate in American culture while discouraging illegals.
He also simultaneously pitched assimilation and a book by one of his favorite world leaders. We already knew Giuliani is one of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's No. 1 fans. (Recall the mayor's glee at a New York Post headline that described the pro-American Sarkozy as "A French Rudy.") But today, Giuliani gushed over Sarkozy's new book, in which Sarkozy promotes the American “melting pot” theme.
"It's one of the best books that I've read this summer," Giuliani said of Testimony, Sarkozy's pre-election manifesto about France's future in a rapidly globalizing world. "It's about a president of France who believes that America has the right ideas."