Reviewing the transcript of last night’s debate, I noticed that in criticizing Giuliani for running a sanctuary city as mayor, Romney–perhaps inadvertently–endorsed the central tenets of Giuliani’s policies in New York City.

Here’s what Romney said (note the part in bold):

But the mayor said — and I quote almost verbatim — which is if you happen to be in this country in an undocumented status — and that means you’re here illegally — then we welcome you here. We want you here. We’ll protect you here.

That’s the wrong attitude. Instead, we should say if you’re here illegally, you should not be here. We’re not going to give you benefits, other than those required by the law, like health care and education, and that’s the course we’re going to have to pursue.

Huh? I though the whole criticism of Giuliani’s policy was that he gave health care and education benefits to illegal immigrants and didn’t report them. Is Romney suggesting that Giuliani should have given illegal immigrants health care and education, but reported anybody who took advantage of those services to the INS?