Free Republic

Reid called the DREAM Act "really important" and said it should be passed because it provides a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who go to college or serve in the military.

Just a week after the last time a California school told its students that the American flag was somehow racist, another California school repeated the lesson. This time a middle school student was taught that drawing an American flag was wrong. However, drawing a picture of President Obama was apparently praise worthy:

While scolding the people of state of Arizona for their new immigration enforcement law, [Alleged] President Barack Obama and his minions repeatedly demonstrate their lack of enthusiasm for protecting the U.S. borders and cracking down on illegal (criminal) immigrants. After years of debates, congressional votes, government studies and political posturing by lawmakers, the so-called "virtual fence" continues to cause more problems than it solves, according to testimony at a session of the House Homeland Security Committee. In a compromise that met with disappointment by those who advocate tighter border security, instead of walls or chain link fencing, the U.S. Border Patrol...

I am posting this announcement with Jim Thompson's blessing and support.Patriotic Americans all across the nation are being called on to 'flaunt the American flag' on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 by wearing patriotic-themed clothing such as American flag style shirts, blouses, ties or jackets; American flag lapel pins or brooches; and by displaying the American flag at home, on your car or at your desk at work. You can even carry an American flag with you as you make your rounds on Wednesday and really flaunt that flag!This is being done as a show of support for the American families...

Attorney General Eric Holder has intervened in a federal conspiracy and murder trial to order prosecutors not to seek the death penalty for three El Salvadoran men who are illegal aliens. The three robbed and shot Claros Luna on July 29, 2009, in Alexandria, Va., according to police. The crime occurred just a few miles from the Justice Department as Luna transported a prostitute from Maryland to Virginia, CNSNews reported. The suspects, Eris Arguera, Alcides Umana, and Adolfo Amaya Portillo, are admitted members of the MS-13 gang – a large, organized gang with roots throughout Mexico and Latin America. Many...

Advocacy groups step up efforts to rally support. BY NOELLE PHILLIPS In recent weeks, Latinos in South Carolina have gathered for food and conversation to discuss a strategy for immigration reform. Energized by the election of President Barack Obama, they are trying to push the explosive issue back into the national conversation. "It's going to come up," said the Rev. Sandy Jones, pastor of Spring of Life Lutheran Church, which has a predominantly Hispanic congregation. "I'm afraid this debate is going to be more vitriolic than health care was." People attending these events want the federal government to create a...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats and Republicans in Congress are working together to craft an immigration reform bill that could become law as early as next year, a senior White House adviser said on Sunday. That legislation could create a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States, David Axelrod, senior advisory to President Barak Obama, told CNN's State of the Union with John King. "I think some good work is being done on both sides of the aisle to achieve that," Axelrod said, referring to the partisan divide on Capitol Hill.

Although Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) vowed this week to introduce comprehensive immigration reform next month, his Senate counterparts expected to take the lead on the issue aren’t heeding a similar timeline. “That’s new to me,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of Gutierrez’s announcement, made Tuesday at an immigration rally on Capitol Hill. “I’ve been talking to Sen. Schumer, and we hope to get something done that’s comprehensive,” Graham added. “We just don’t know when yet.”Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, has been meeting periodically with Graham to discuss ideas on immigration,...

(snip) There is some Republican support for reform. Obama, Napolitano and Sen. John McCain share virtually the same immigration views. The president and McCain reportedly have been speaking in private on the issue. The Arizona Republican has been a leader for comprehensive reform, and with the improvement in enforcement, he now has all the political cover he needs to return to the ramparts.(snip)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is working behind the scenes to help Democrats craft a new version of former President Bush's immigration reform bill. Graham also supported the Bush/Kennedy/McCain bill back in 2007. As The Wall Street Journal reports: Wes Hickman, a spokesman for Mr. Graham, said in a statement that "Senator Graham is ready and willing to play a key role in immigration reform. He intends to work with many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle." The new bill will most likely be introduced in September by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Graham has been working with...

After twice postponing a highly anticipated meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders on immigration reform, the White House is under increasing pressure to get legislation done this year. Winning congressional approval of an immigration measure by December is a steep climb, with the economy, health care and energy higher on the president’s agenda. So far, Obama has promised only to begin the discussion at the summit set for next week. But if the president does not move quickly, he will suffer the same fate as his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who left office acknowledging that failure to...

WASHINGTON – When it comes to shoring up the U.S.-Mexico border, the Obama administration won't take yes for an answer. Key members of Congress want to spend more. The president is saying no thanks. Last week, the administration unveiled a plan to redeploy as many as 500 customs, immigration, border and firearms agents to the Southwest border – not by hiring, but by shifting them from other, mostly unspecified, duties. They won't come from the northern border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assured Congress. Beyond that, she would say only that they'll come from "less urgent activities" – a red...

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona Sen. John McCain, back in his home state, says he looks forward to working with President-elect Obama on the country's economic ills. McCain, talking Tuesday to the Tucson Citizen's editorial board, said the incoming president will be setting the nation's legislative agenda, and he's not sure where immigration reform falls among Obama's top priorities. But McCain said it's an issue that needs to be addressed.

In the green folds of the Capay Valley, the scene at Full Belly Farm isn't that different from countless other California businesses with immigrant workers on their payrolls. Everybody is hunkered down, thankful to have work – in this case, growing organic vegetables – and praying the economy improves with the coming Barack Obama administration's stimulus plans.Lori Wolf, a Modesto landscaper, added that immigration change "is just not something that can be swept under the rug again. It's very important to a lot of people, especially in California." Jim Abram, president of the California Hotel and Lodging Association in Sacramento,...

The nation's economic crisis could make it tough for President-elect Barack Obama to deliver on his pledge to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, some analysts predict. With unemployment rising, foreign workers are less welcome, say immigration restrictionists, who have vowed to oppose offering legal status to the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. "Clearly the economy is job No. 1 for the new administration," said Frank Sharry, director of America's Voice, a pro-immigration advocacy group. "But we fully expect that by the end of year one, that they're going to take a hard run at immigration reform." ..... Yale Law...

(CNSNews.com) – An 18-year veteran of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), who advocated for federal legislation to give the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States a path to citizenship, has been tapped for President-elect Barack Obama’s White House staff. Cecilia Muñoz, who currently serves as senior vice president for the office of research, advocacy and legislation at the NCLR, will serve as director for intergovernmental affairs in the Obama administration.