Council Bluffs, IA — Rudy Giuliani returned fire on Mitt Romney’s recent immigration attacks today, accusing the former Massachusetts governor of having “the worst record on illegal immigration.”

“You have to decide if there is any credibility from the person…So I don’t want to criticize him, but he criticized me and I have to point out that he had one of the worst records in terms of the increase of illegal immigration,” Giuliani said at a retail stop at the Village Inn in Western Iowa this morning.

In recent weeks, Romney has stepped up his rhetoric on Giuliani’s immigration record, equating the former NYC mayor with Hillary Clinton, saying both share a “sanctuary city state of mind,” referring to the fact that New York City was sanctuary city for illegals during Giuliani’s tenure. Comparing him with Clinton are fighting words and Giuliani felt the need to fire back.

“He had more sanctuary cities than just about any other state and did very little about it until the last day or two he was in office and it never had any impact,” Giuliani added. “I think people will have to weigh how credible his claims are given his very poor record in that area.”

Update: Kevin Madden, Romney Campaign Spokesman responds:

“Mayor Giuliani is lashing out as a result of Republican voters becoming increasingly aware of just how out of touch his views on illegal immigration are. The Mayor openly advocated more illegal immigration to New York City and he advocated sanctuary city policies that turned a 3 million illegal immigrant problem into a 12 million illegal immigrant problem. Mayor Giuliani created an amnesty haven in New York City, and as a result he hurt our nation’s ability to secure our borders. He’s got the wrong approach.”