Like several of his GOP colleagues, John McCain says he had hoped Wednesday’s debate in Des Moines would focus more on Iraq and immigration. done

At times, dark horse candidate Alan Keyes seemed to dominate the discussion with his anti-establishment rants, cutting down on time for other candidates to speak. done

Senator McCain raised eyebrows in the press room during the debate, when he promised to push for “oil independence” for the U.S. in five years. He later clarified that remark, saying he meant “oil security.” done

Governor Romney fired his lawn care company today. He made the move in advance of a Boston Globe story reporting that, despite a year’s worth of controversy, the company continues to hire illegal immigrants to work on Romney’s lawn. Romney has a tough illegal immigration policy that he touts every day on the trail, but he gave the lawn company he uses for his Belmont home a second chance after it was revealed that illegals were working on his lawn last year. The Romney camp issued a statement from the former Massachusetts Governor saying he had terminated his lawn company today:

“After this same issue arose last year, I gave the company a second chance
 with very specific conditions. They were instructed to make sure people
 working for the company were of legal status,” the former Massachusetts
 governor said in a statement. “We personally met with the company in order
to inform them about the importance of this matter. The owner of the
 company guaranteed us, in very certain terms, that the company would be in
total compliance with the law going forward.

We personally met with the company in order 
to inform them about the importance of this matter. The owner of the
 company guaranteed us, in very certain terms, that the company would be in
 total compliance with the law going forward.”

Romney’s defense has always been that he hired the company, not the individual workers and that he can’t go up to every worker and ask to see their documents.

Romney was campaigning in New Hampshire today and said the very first thing he would do on the immigration issue if he was elected would be to build a border fence. Republican rivals have already started to attack Romney. Thompson’s campaign has put out a statement saying, “First Mitt Romney was FOR illegal immigrants working on his lawn, and then he was against it, then for it, and now I guess he’s against it again. Sounds like his position on amnesty.”

At the Republican debate last week Rudy Giuliani attacked Romney on this very topic and the Governor denied having illegal immigrants work on his lawn:

GIULIANI: You did have illegal immigrants working at your mansion, didn’t you?

ROMNEY: No, I did not, so let’s just talk about that. Are you suggesting, Mr. Mayor — because I think it is really kind of offensive actually to suggest, to say look, you know what, if you are a homeowner and you hire a company to come provide a service at your home — paint the home, put on the roof. If you hear someone that is working out there, not that you have employed, but that the company has.
ROMNEY: If you hear someone with a funny accent, you, as a homeowner, are supposed to go out there and say, “I want to see your papers. Is that what you’re suggesting?”

This scandal is in advance of Romney’s “Faith in America” speech on Thursday, arguably the biggest moment in his campaign so far.

UPDATE: Giuliani communications director Katie Levinson on the Romney statement: “I think it speaks for itself.”

The Romney campaign launched a new television ad in Iowa and New Hampshire today focusing on illegal immigration. Romney addresses immigration on a daily basis at his Ask Mitt Anything events. Voters also constantly ask him about it on the trail.

The ad called “Take Charge” starts with black and white statistics that move over a still picture of barbed wire.  The ad then transitions to video of the former Massachusetts Governor getting sworn in, talking to voters, and ends with a close up of Romney rolling up his shirtsleeves as if to say now this is when the real work gets done. The commercial has a sense of optimism and the Romney can-do attitude that he often talks about while campaigning.

The voice over then says, “He said no to driver’s licenses for illegals; no to in-state tuition; fought for English in the classroom. The only candidate with a proven record of fixing big problems.” Romney slams his Republican rivals on these topics daily. Most often it is Rudy Giuliani because Romney says Rudy ran New York City as a sanctuary city while he was mayor. He also attacks Mike Huckabee, but usually only by name in Iowa where he is tied in the polls to Romney, on the topic of tuition breaks for the children of illegal immigrants. Huckabee continually says that children shouldn’t pay for the sins of their parents. Giuliani defends his immigration policies while he was mayor by saying they helped bring down crime dramatically.

Immigration is a hot issue, especially with Republican voters, in the first caucus state of Iowa. Critics say Romney touts his immigration record and border security policies to deflect from the charge that he hasN less foreign policy experience than some of his rivals.

Watch the ad below:

Before Governor Romney started his packed day campaigning in Iowa I did a phone interview with Martha MacCallum on the Live Desk. We covered Hillary Clinton’s new ad, the Rudy vs. Romney immigration showdown and even a bit on embed life. Please click below to listen and let me know what you think!

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The Des Moines Register reports that a city council member has been approached by immigration groups about a proposal to make Des Moines a sanctuary city. Illegal immigration is becoming a defining issue between the candidates and this is some serious grist for the mill.

Chicago, IL — Despite delays getting into O’Hare Airport tonight, we have arrived and are set for a quick swing through the Windy City Tuesday. Rudy Giuliani is set to receive the endorsement of former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar tomorrow as well as make a campaign stop in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook.

While Carl packaged the latest in the Romney push-polling saga for Special Report tonight, I used an extended layover in Houston to put together a quick recap of the latest news in the Giuliani-Romney immigration squabble after former NYC mayor visited the US-Mexico border Monday. My goal is to start giving you regular video updates on the latest news from the road with Rudy.

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Governor Mitt Romney continued his attacks on Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the topic of immigration today saying, “a sanctuary city policy draws more legal immigrants into the country, it’s wrong.” The swipe was in response to comments the former New York City mayor made in a Texas border town. Giuliani defended his immigration record and said that it was these policies that allowed him to dramatically reduce crime.

“The policies that I utilized with regard to illegal immigration were in the context of overall policies that probably were the most successful in the history of the country in creating an orderly, legal, lawful society.”

Giuliani welcomed immigrants of “undocumented status” to New York City when he was mayor, which allowed illegal immigrants access to city services such as schools, hospitals, and the ability to report crimes without fear of being arrested themselves.

Romney made a quick stop at a private air terminal in Seattle before addressing Microsoft employees and fundraising, both closed to the press. I asked the early state frontrunner what he thought of Giuliani defending his policies. His standard response was one heard often on the stump, “There are many cities in this country that have the rule of law, but do not have sanctuary status and I think when it comes to sanctuary cities the mayor is frankly on the wrong page.”

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Later in the day the Romney campaign seized on Giuliani’s stance sending out a much stronger reaction from the former Massachusetts governor via e-mail, “Today’s statement by Mayor Giuliani that his sanctuary policies toward illegal aliens created an ‘orderly’ and ‘lawful’ society turns logic on its head. You don’t promote a lawful society by condoning illegality.” Several other e-mails from the campaign also were distributed promoting Romney’s immigration record and slamming Giuliani’s equation that his immigration policies lead to a safer New York City.

Immigration is a critical issue, especially with Republican voters, in the first caucus state of Iowa. Romney campaigns throughout the state tomorrow and Wednesday focusing on health care before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson has made illegal immigration a major focus of his campaign, saying it’s unfair to those immigrants who have “played by the rules.” He’s also called for English to be made the country’s official language and is now running a new TV ad in Iowa called “No Amnesty.”

The issue of illegal immigration presents a quandary to both Republicans and Democrats—one that will surely have costs for each party’s nominee come next November. The challenge facing candidates is to strike a balance between enforcing strict border control and implementing a plan for those illegal immigrants already here. Strategists on both sides agree that a candidate who favors one extreme (too strict or not strict enough) will undoubtedly pay the price on election day.

For Republicans, some predict that a tough immigration policy will alienate a demographic they cannot afford to ignore: Hispanic voters. In the last two elections, their vote proved critical in a victory for Bush. Five of the swing states he carried in 2004 were heavy in Hispanic votes. If that electorate now turns to the Democrats in the upcoming election, it may affect the Republicans’ chance at victory.

At a press availability in New Orleans on Monday, I asked Mr. Thompson if he believed his stance on immigration would turn away Hispanic voters. He said it would not—stating that the immigrants he speaks to are in as much agreement as he is on the need to toughen immigration policies:

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Mission, TX — Under fire from his Republican opponents over his immigration record, Rudy Giuliani today defended his policies as New York City mayor saying they helped him reduce crime in record proportions.

“(Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson) have the luxury of just sort of saying anything they want but they have no record for reducing crime. I have a record for reducing crime, reducing illegality,” he said. “Obviously the policies that I used, even with regard to illegal immigration must have worked.”

In recent weeks, both Thompson and Romney have attacked Giuliani for governing a “sanctuary city”–in which state services become available to illegal immigrants, among other benefits. Giuliani inherited New York City as a “sanctuary city” in 1993 and reissued an executive order extending the status during his tenure, but says his policies were crucial to reducing crime.

“The policies that I utilized with regard to illegal immigration were in the context of overall policies that probably were the most successful in the history of the country in creating an orderly, legal, lawful society,” he added. “Neither one of them had the record of reducing crime that I had, did they? Not even close. I reduced crime more than any other mayor, any other governor, in that period of time.”

Today on the Live Desk with Martha MacCallum Governor Romney responded to a harsh attack from Governor Huckabee. The former Governor of Arkansas said, “ I guess Mitt Romney would rather keep people out of college so they can keep working on his lawn because he had illegals there, but the point is you don’t punish a child for the crime of the parent.” Romney responded by saying “Illegal immigration is not a joke. It’s something serious. The seriousness is very plain to see. In the case of Mike Huckabee he believes that illegal aliens ought to get a tuition break. He fought for that in his state schools. I had a bill put on my desk. I said no. I said it’s simply not fair for the children of illegal aliens to get a special discount on their tuition when U.S. citizens for all other states would have to pay a higher rate than the children of illegal aliens. “

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A few days ago in Laconia, New Hampshire I asked Romney almost the same thing, if children should have to pay for the sins of their parents. He responded by saying that he was concerned with U.S. citizens first.

Romney often rails against Huckabee’s tuition break position on the stump. But, it is getting more heated as Huckabee is nipping at the New Hampshire and Iowa frontrunner’s heels. Yesterday’s CBS/New York Times poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers has Romney at 27% and Huckabee surging towards him at 21%.

The former Massachusetts governor also answered questions on the “Mormon speech” and if he would give it. He told Martha, “There’s nothing of that nature written by me.” Whether the speech has been written or not is something that has been constantly debated by pundits. It looks like we now have an answer.