Giuliani's migrating position is in dispute

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The LA Times has this story. I'll include a few paragraphs, though the entire story is worth reading.

After Congress passed a landmark welfare law with support from both parties, one prominent mayor became furious. His concern: a provision that would lead, he believed, to the "inhumane" treatment of illegal immigrants. He promptly dispatched his lawyers to file suit against the federal government.

This was no bleeding-heart liberal championing the rights of illegal immigrants, but the Republican mayor of New York, Rudolph W. Giuliani."

I believe the anti-immigration movement in America is one of our most serious public problems," Giuliani said in announcing the lawsuit in 1996. "I am speaking out and filing this action because I believe that a threat to immigration can be a threat to the future of our country."

Today Giuliani is running for president, and one of his leading GOP rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is pointing to his record as mayor to accuse him of being soft on illegal immigration. That charge threatens to undercut the image Giuliani has sought to cultivate as the law-and-order champion best equipped to keep the U.S. safe.

Under attack, Giuliani is striking a tougher, less welcoming tone toward illegal immigrants. He is calling for stricter border control, tamper-proof identification cards for noncitizens and the deportation of foreign-born criminals.

But his substantial record on immigration is likely to ensure that the issue remains a point of tension throughout the primary campaign. Indeed, immigration is one of several social issues -- including abortion and gun control -- on which Giuliani's relatively liberal stances have been fodder for rivals who say he has proved himself out of step with the conservative base.

Some conservatives want Giuliani to do even more to distance himself from his record as mayor, pointing to Romney's repudiation of his past support for abortion rights as a model."

Romney has made a good case for having changed his thinking on abortion," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which favors limits on immigration. "Giuliani could make the same case on immigration, but that is not what he is doing. He has a record he needs to overcome."

Randy Mastro, a deputy mayor under Giuliani, says Giuliani's views have been consistent: Both his call for stricter border control and his treatment of illegal immigrants reflect his overarching concern for public safety.

Still, people who see a marked shift in tone and emphasis wonder which stance Giuliani would bring to the Oval Office."How would he be as president? It's really hard to tell," said Marshall Fitz, advocacy director for the American Immigration Lawyers Assn. "That's the danger of flip-flopping: You lose your compass."

In my opinion, Rudy never had much of a compass.

At the end, someone finally labeled his behavior on this issue: flop-flopping. That is what we've got here, folks. Rudy is trying to have it both ways without explaining his migration on this topic.

He was extremely pro-immigrant--about as extreme as they came--as he invited illegals to immigrant-rich NYC. Now, he's taking a stricter approach.