FLASHBACK: Rudolph Giuliani defends NYC as a sanctuary city in 1996

Decades before serving as a hype man for Donald Trump's policy platform, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani offered support for policies that protect undocumented immigrants.

Despite his full-throated defense of Trump’s campaign in 2016—which included a pledge to defund sanctuary cities offering respite for undocumented immigrants—Giuliani in 1996 made several speeches defending his decision to reissue an executive order protecting undocumented immigrants.

On Sept. 20 1996, Giuliani gave a speech on "New Americans and New Immigrants at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. During the speech, Giuliani outlined his reason for reissuing his predecessor's “Executive Order 124,” insisting, “there are times when undocumented immigrations must have a substantial degree of protection.”

In the speech, Giuliani argued undocumented immigrants should be able to send their children to school, seek medical help and report criminal activity without fear of deportation. Giuliani said providing access to city services “that are critical to their health and safety” not only protect immigrants, but the “rest of society as well.”

Giuliani made a similar speech at the Harvard School of Government in October 1996, touting his decision to “[protect] illegal and undocumented immigrants, in several respects, from being reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Services.”

“[Executive Order 124] basically says if they seek to use city services that are critical to their health and safety, and critical to the health and safety of other people, then their names will not be turned into the INS,” Giuliani told the crowd.

Trump signed two immigration-related executive orders on Wednesday, jumpstarting effort to build a southern border wall and clamping down on sanctuary cities, threatening to withhold federal funding to those who defy federal immigration laws. Mayors in several cities—including New York—have vowed to fight the executive order.

Giuliani, who was passed over for Secretary of State, will serve as a cybersecurity advisor in the Trump administration.

Watch the video Giuliani’s speech to the Harvard School of Government below, via YouTube: