Free Republic

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- The sheriff's department has developed a remarkably effective -- and controversial -- way of catching illegal immigrants: Deputies in patrol cars pull up to a construction site in force, and watch and see who runs. Those who take off are chased down and arrested on charges such as trespassing, for cutting through someone else's property; or loitering, for hiding out in someone's yard; or reckless driving, for speeding off in a car. U.S. immigration authorities are then given the names of those believed to be in this country illegally. ''It's not wrong for them to run,...

EVERY aspect of the current immigration bill, and of the arguments made for it, has Fraud written all over it. The first, and perhaps biggest, fraud is the argument that illegal aliens are "doing jobs Americans won't do." There are no such jobs. Even in the sector of the economy in which illegal immigrants have the highest representation - agriculture - they are just 24 percent of the workers. Where did the other 76 percent come from, if these are jobs that Americans won't do? The argument that illegal agricultural workers are "making a contribution to the economy" is likewise...

WASHINGTON - Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, "F- - - you!" at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. "This is chickens- - - stuff," McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. "You've always been against this bill, and you're just trying to derail it." Surprised by McCain's...

A Maryland-based immigrant-advocacy group is distributing guidebooks instructing those targeted by federal immigration agents during job-site raids not to cooperate with authorities if they are arrested or detained. The eight-page, two-color illustrated book lists what rights "people who are not United States citizens" have if detained by immigration agents, details what to do if served with a warrant or charged with a crime, and urges them to remain silent if they are arrested. The book also says they should refuse to provide authorities with any information about their immigration status. Included in the book is a "Know Your Rights" card...

WASHINGTON - Searching for a bipartisan deal on immigration, Republicans are backing off from strict conditions they floated earlier this year for allowing illegal immigrants a crack at citizenship. Deep rifts are keeping the two parties from agreeing on a broad overhaul, however, with only a couple of weeks left to reach a compromise under a self-imposed Senate deadline. An intense round of closed-door talks among Cabinet officials and Senate Republicans and Democrats has reached a critical bargaining stage, congressional officials and lobbyists said. Senior lawmakers from opposite sides of the spectrum — led by liberal Sen. Edward Kennedy (news,...

In the race to the bottom for votes to win office, or to preserve themselves in office, it would be difficult to out-run Republicans as they pander to the Hispanic vote by refusing to control our southern border against an invasion by millions of illegal aliens. Democrats are trying and they may soon pass Republicans in their cynical pursuit of political power. At the Democrats’ “winter meeting” (they used to call it a “retreat,” before that word conjured up negative implications about the war), a clergyman was asked to deliver the invocation. He was Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic...

As Virginia lawmakers continued to consider a swath of bills aimed at punishing illegal immigrants and their employers, Latino immigrants and advocates took to the state Capitol yesterday to press for laws that expand the rights of people living in the country illegally. About 100 people, most of them from Northern Virginia, fanned out to lawmakers' offices, gathered in biting wind for a short rally and attended a lunch visited by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who told them that he is committed to keeping Virginia a "welcoming place" for all. snip "We don't want a free ride," said Carlos...

Residents complaining of rights violations gain local officials' support RICHMOND — Before leaving her Richmond apartment, Jenni Spezeski peeks out the front door and looks down both ends of the street. She is looking to see if any agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, who have recently been cracking down and arresting illegal immigrants in Richmond, are waiting outside. But it's not Spezeski they're after. Once the graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, who grew up in Arizona, determines it is safe to leave, she escorts her fianc out the door. He is identified only as Junior,...

Ridding U.S. Of Criminal Illegal Immigrants Finally ending the longtime practice of releasing criminal illegal aliens who complete U.S. prison sentences, a new federal program has identified thousands who will instead be deported. In its short existence, the Criminal Alien Program has found nearly 12,000 incarcerated illegal aliens across the country in both state and federal prisons. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers now monitor jails nationwide to ensure that offenders in the country illegally are not released into the community by securing a removal order prior to the end of the prison sentence. Before the implementation of the much-needed...

An alliance of Chicago immigrant advocates called on Congress Tuesday to give undocumented immigrants legal status when the Democratic majority takes another look at immigration reform in February. "The language in Washington, D.C., is different from the language here at the grass-roots level," said Carlos Arango, the executive director of Casa Aztlan, a cultural center for the Mexican community in Pilsen. "This is the agenda that comes from the community. It is not negotiable. We want legalization for everyone." The United Front of Immigrants released a set of demands at a news conference Tuesday that included suspending construction of a...

DALLAS - A spokesman for the Mexican Consulate of Dallas says police in North and East Texas profiled illegal immigrants and exceeded their authority in checking the immigrants' residency status. Consulate officials blamed the increased scrutiny on "Operation Wrangler," a plan announced last week by Gov. Rick Perry to crack down on drug and human smuggling along the Mexican border with coordinated law enforcement throughout the state. Eduardo Rea Falcon, a Consulate spokesman, said Mexican officials believe 33 of 47 men, women and children held over the weekend at a federal immigration center in Dallas were profiled by police. The...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 24 men suspected of being illegal immigrants Tuesday at a popular Southeast Baltimore gathering spot for day laborers. --------------------------snip------------------------------ About 10 agents in three or four unmarked vehicles stopped at the 7-Eleven around 11 a.m., according Raimondi. As soon as the agents pulled their vehicles into the lot, about two dozen men approached, asking in Spanish if those in the car had work for them. The agents, who were wearing raid jackets and badges on their chests, asked the men for identification and found cause to believe they were illegal immigrants, Raimondi said....

As debate continues nationwide on what to do about illegal immigration, several communities across the country have taken steps of their own to combat the problem. For example, Valley Park, Mo., enacted an ordinance last summer to fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny city contracts to businesses that hire illegal aliens. Similar ordinances have been adopted in Hazelton, Pa., and Cherokee County, Ga. In Suffolk County, N.Y., Beaudort County, S.C. and Pickens County, S.C., ordinances have been adopted requiring businesses to attest they aren’t hiring illegal aliens and forfeiting county business with any that do.

Law enforcement agencies in Orange County are working with the federal government to deport illegal immigrants serving time in U.S. jails. The news could mean as many as 11,000 illegal aliens could be handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. Latino advocacy groups said the program contributes to the targeting and racial profiling of all persons who appear to be "illegal." Agents said that is not true because they are checking the immigration status of all inmates, not just those that appear "illegal."

Sacramento — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a bigger problem than Republican legislative resistance in trying to sell a core element of his healthcare overhaul. That problem is the public. The governor wants to require everybody in California to carry health insurance. That means illegal immigrants too. People who can't afford coverage would get state subsidies. "If you can't afford it, the state will help you buy it, but you must be insured," Schwarzenegger declared Monday in announcing his plan. No way, say most Californians. Not for people who sneaked into the state illegally. A new poll being released today by...

DALLAS - After a federal study revealed that a look at 100 illegal immigrants previously arrested and released for breaking state or local law had on an average been arrested six times, the president of the Dallas chapter of the League of United Latin Amercian Citizens (LULAC) made a controversial remark that has been the talk of the town. Jesse Diaz, the LULAC leader, said while the report is flawed, he stands by his comments that if Americans want to blame anybody, they need to blame themselves. "Now that they come to the United States, they're picking up those bad...

Immigrants and children of immigrants keep U.S. population young Washington – A steady stream of immigrants to the United States and moderate growth keep the U.S. population younger than other developed countries, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which projects population in the United States on New Year’s Day 2007 to be 301 million people. Younger population growth keeps the economy and society vital, William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told USINFO. “With people coming into our country from around the world, as a population overall, we have become more open to new ideas,” Frey said....

Wild Earth and other Environmental Groups 16 min 54 sec - Jun 11, 2006 This is a MUST SEE video for anyone interested in the immigration debate, whether you are a citizen, an illegal alien or a Congressman. ... all » This clip from the longer video, Immigration by the Numbers, features Roy Beck demonstrating the catastrophe of the huge numbers of both legal and illegal immigration by Third World people into the modern nations. He uses standard statistics and simple gumballs to show this disaster in the making

Many Newly Elected Democrats Ran on a Platform of Immigration Enforcement, Not Amnesty When the 110th Congress convenes in January it will be under new Democratic leadership. Angry and frustrated by a seeming lack of progress in the war in Iraq, a series of corruption and other scandals, skyrocketing energy costs, the erosion of the middle class, and historically low approval ratings for the president, the public chose to make sweeping changes in the elections of 2006. With both Houses of Congress now led by the Democrats there is likely to be a change in direction in how just about...

SAN DIEGO - A Southern California fence-building company and two executives pleaded guilty Thursday to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and agreed to pay a combined penalty of $5 million. The executives could also go to prison. The penalty is one of the biggest fines ever imposed in an immigration case, and the case represents a rare instance in which prosecutors brought criminal charges over the hiring of illegal immigrants. Golden State Fence Co. will pay $4.7 million. Mel Kay, 64, the company’s founder, chairman and president, will forfeit $200,000, and Michael McLaughlin, 42, a manager in the company’s Oceanside office,...