GOP debaters soften immigration rhetoric

CORAL GABLES, Florida -- Republican candidates pledged to crack down on illegal immigration during a debate Sunday before a largely Hispanic audience, but avoided confronting each other over who is tougher on the issue.

"We should end illegal immigration at the border," Rudy Giuliani said. The debate was sponsored by Univision, the nation's leading Spanish-language television network, and held at the University of Miami.

Mitt Romney said the nation's immigration policy should emphasize "people who have been standing in line" legally. Mike Huckabee said "nothing really matters" unless borders are secured first.

Sen. John McCain, who supported an unsuccessful, bipartisan immigration plan earlier this year, struck a somewhat different note. McCain also pledged to secure the border, but said the immigration issue needs to be treated "with compassion and love."

The immigration rhetoric was stronger during the previous GOP debate on Nov. 28. Romney accused Giuliani of running a "sanctuary city" as mayor of New York because he did not turn in all illegal immigrants to federal authorities. Giuliani countered that the ex-governor of Massachusetts ran "a sanctuary mansion" because a landscaping company employed illegal immigrants at his home. Romney last week fired the company.

Sunday's debate came at a time when Republicans appear to be losing support among the fast-growing Hispanic population.

The Pew Hispanic Center reported last week that 57% registered Hispanic voters consider themselves Democrats, while only 23% identify with Republicans. That 34-percentage point gap was a jump from summer 2006, when the gap in party identification was 21 percentage points.

McCain warned his rivals that the harshness of GOP immigration talk could take a toll: "Some of the rhetoric that many Hispanics hear … makes some of them believe that we are not in favor nor seek the support of Hispanic citizens in this country."

McCain has been vocal in supporting legislation that would include a crackdown on illegal border crossings, programs for temporary workers and a path to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already in the USA.