BOSTON -- Two of the Democratic candidates for governor hit the campaign trail Tuesday, just one week before the primary.

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that the two squared off about immigration and taxes.

Candidate Deval Patrick ushered his special guest, State Treasurer Tim Cahill, through his campaign headquarters.

The reason for Cahill's visit was to endorse Patrick as the strongest candidate for the corner office.

"Deval is the only candidate who's been straight with the voters on the issue of taxes," Cahill said.

Cahill said Patrick's refusal to support an income tax cut because it will likely result in a hike in property taxes is the courageous position to take.

"I've talked to people all over the commonwealth -- thousands of them -- and the tax that they are concerned about, the one that's a particular hardship, is the property tax. That's the tax to cut," Patrick said.

"I have a different point of view. And I think there's a lot of people in our state, Democrats and Independents across the board, who do feel like the state can and should cut the income tax and do it in a responsible way," candidate Chris Gabrieli said.

Gabrieli shook hands at a senior citizen's housing complex in Revere, Mass. He talked about raising the issue of immigration with one week to go before the primary.

Gabrieli criticized Patrick for supporting in-state college tuition rates for the children of illegal immigrants.

"I think we've got higher priorities like college tuition for people who are citizens. It's a big problem with the cost of middle-class to go to our schools. Early education and K to 12, I've got other places to put a higher priority, and I think there is a difference between legal and illegal. I'm a Democrat who wants to draw that distinction," Gabrieli said.

"You know, we're talking about kids who were brought here by their parents. They didn't volunteer to come here, and since being here, they have played by the rules. They've done their homework. They've gained admission. We don't say they can't go. We just say they have to pay a different rate than the kid who sat across the aisle from them in their high school classroom, and I don't see the fairness in that," Patrick said.

When asked if he thought it had come down to a two-person race, with Tom Reilly falling off the radar screen, Gabrieli said he believed he or Patrick would be the next governor. Patrick said he'd let the voters decide.