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.

...As mayor, Giuliani was the rare Republican who rolled out the welcome mat for legal and illegal immigrants. He took his legal challenge to the welfare law as far as he could, appealing to the Supreme Court. He lobbied Congress against other measures he considered punitive. Although he worked to deport illegal immigrants who committed crimes, he defended others as valuable contributors to the city's economy and culture.

"Some of the hardest-working and most productive people in this city are undocumented aliens," he said in 1994. "If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city."

How different was the old Rudy on immigration?

Liberals who disliked other aspects of Giuliani's administration swooned over his advocacy on behalf of immigrants. "He was like a beacon of light in a storm," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.