A press release from the The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee in New York announced that they will launch a new radio ad in New Hampshire and Iowa on Wednesday entitled, “Fence.”

In the ad, Giulani says:

“As the mayor of New York I wanted to see if I could get the Immigration Service to help me…
[snip]
You stop illegal immigration by building a fence, a physical fence and then a technological fence. You then hire enough Border Patrol so they can respond in a timely way. And then, if anybody becomes a citizen, we should make certain that they can read English, write English and speak English, because this is an English speaking country.”

This couldn’t be more typical of a Republican: campaigning on a… well… you know… We used to call it a “lie”.

I lived in New York City for most of the 90’s (and voted for Dinkins…) My personal experience was that I had friends who were French, Russian, Israeli, Cuban, Australian, Iranian, Irish, Dominican, Trinidadian, Columbian, and yes, Mexican. Most were living on the fringe, getting by on cash jobs and overstaying student visas. It was a wonderful experience, to be surrounded by so much youth, and energy, and to be with so many people from different cultures. I remember going to a dinner party and eating picadillo for the first time, and drinking Jarritos (of all things), and dancing with a girl from Israel. Of course, I’m a terrible dancer, but still, the memories…

Anyways, New York under Giuliani was known as a place that embraced immigration. It was a “sanctuary city”, where the Giuliani administration policy was for local officals to be uncooperative towards INS. In 1997, more than 56% of the city’s population were foreign-born or the children of foreign-born. About a third of NYC residents are immigrants. Immigration is the driving force behind New York’s economy and vitality, as much now as it was during the early 1900’s.

Giuliani knows this. He knew it when he was mayor, too, and embraced it. In a 1994 news conference, he said:

“Some of the hardest-working and most productive poepl in this city are undocumented aliens. If you come here, and work hard, and happen to be in an undocumented status, you’re one of the people 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.”

In 1996:

“There are times when undocumented immigrants must have a substantial degree of protection”

Knock it off, Rudy. Immigration’s a net benefit, and you know it.