Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani speaks on his plans to change immigration policy during a town hall meeting in Columbia, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007. AP Photo/Brett Flashnick

Rudolph Giuliani Former Mayor, NYC Born: 05/28/1944 Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY Religion: Catholic >> Website >> Forum >> Related Stories Coming Events

CONCORD — Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday planned to launch a new radio ad in New Hampshire and Iowa that highlights his support for building a physical and technological fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

In the ads, the former New York mayor tells voters he also would require new immigrants to learn English, deport criminal suspects and enact tougher visa standards.

“A person who comes here illegally and commits a crime should be thrown out of the country. People that come in illegally, we gotta stop,” Giuliani says. “You stop illegal immigration by building a fence, a physical fence and then a technological fence. You then hire enough Border Patrol so they can respond in a timely way.”

His technological fence would be a system of motion detectors, night vision monitors and video cameras.

Voters at town hall-style meetings in early states regularly ask about immigration, a hot-button issue among Republican primary voters. Rivals have said Giuliani allowed New York to become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants during his tenure, a charge he aggressively denies.

In the ads, Giuliani also repeats his position that new immigrants must assimilate to the language.

“If anybody becomes a citizen, we should make certain that they can read English, write English and speak English,” Giuliani says. “Because this is an English speaking country.”

The ads reference high-profile examples of what he calls outrageous abuses of the system. His campaign cites the recent execution-style killings of three college-bound students in Newark, N.J., as background for one of his statements. One suspect was a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from Peru who was granted bail earlier this year after being charged with assault and child rape.

“Let’s see if you could get rid of the drug dealers who are coming out of jail,” he says. “It makes no sense — after they have been in jail for selling drugs in the United States — we now have to keep them in the United States.”

Giuliani has maintained solid poll numbers but has seen his lead in New Hampshire slip as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has invested heavily, both in time and money. Romney’s latest ads in New Hampshire criticize what he calls a corrupted culture filled with violence and pornography.

Last month, Giuliani launched a trio of radio ads in New Hampshire and Iowa that highlighted his accomplishments as New York’s mayor and promises he has made during the campaign. Earlier this year, his campaign did a national ad to introduce him to voters.

The recent ads echo one of Giuliani’s “12 Commitments,” or guiding themes to his campaign to end illegal immigration, secure U.S. borders and identify every non-citizen in the country.