Free Republic

A sudden influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico requesting asylum is overwhelming immigration agents in San Diego, forcing agencies to rent hotel rooms

A public hearing is set for Tuesday as King County considers making its jail the first in the state to refuse to cooperate with the federal government’s efforts to nab illegal immigrants. Supporters of an ordinance before the King County Council say it would protect immigrants accused of minor crimes from overzealous federal agents. However, KING 5 has obtained documents showing that the county’s own prosecutor believes the ordinance would protect illegal immigrants facing serious charges and those with serious criminal histories. The ordinance was drafted by council members Larry Gossett and Joe McDermott after hearing concerns that immigration agents...

AN DIEGO-A group rallied in downtown San Diego tonight voicing their concerns over immigration and deportation. The San Diego Dream Team organized the event that attracted about 50 people. The group started downtown outside The Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and then walked to the federal courthouse holding candles and chanting. “We should not be deporting mothers and fathers,” said Liz Arizona. ”I would like to see an end to deportation.” Members of the group stood up and told their stories. Each one somehow dealing with the immigration issue and hoping for change. Karen Guzman’s father was deported five years...

[Supervisor Antonovich] - With an additional $54 million in welfare payments issued in April to illegal alien parents for their native-born children, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services projects that more than $650 million in welfare benefits will be distributed to illegal alien parents in 2013, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said Friday. The $54 million spent in the month of April alone, consists of nearly $20 million in CalWORKs (welfare) and $35 million in food stamps — representing 20% of all CalWORKs and food stamp issuances in the County. At this rate, the projected annual cost is...

Many of us knew this would happen. Our government has realized that fighting the 2nd Amendment directly is likely a losing proposition. Because of that, they have decided that doing whatever they can to make it hard to impossible to obtain weapons and ammo is the next best thing. After all, if ammo is next to impossible to purchase, what good is a gun? By the same token, if parts of the government keep adding more restrictions to gun manufacturers, that also makes it difficult to obtain guns. In all of this, the 2nd Amendment is technically, left alone. California...

Despite failing in courts across the country, Plaintiffs have continued to file lawsuits alleging that President Obama is ineligible to serve as the American President because he is not a natural born U.S. citizen. However, as set forth above, federal courts cannot grant Plaintiffs the relief sought because the issues which Plaintiffs raise in their pleadings are constitutionally committed to the jurisdiction of another branch of the federal government. If Plaintiffs believe that President Obama has violated the law, their remedy is to alert Congress to the alleged wrongdoing. Congress could then initiate impeachment proceedings with the aid of an...

(Reuters) - Wading into the national debate over immigration, California Governor Jerry Brown is pushing for a faster path to citizenship for the millions of people who are in the country illegally. Brown's is the latest in a chorus of voices from the most populous U.S. state calling for swift enactment of reform - but also demanding that a provision that would delay full citizenship for 10 or more years be removed from the immigration overhaul legislation being considered in the U.S. Senate. The delay is of particular concern to policymakers in California, because it means that the state's mostly...

FRESNO, Calif. — The rumor spread like wildfire via phone calls, text messages and social media postings and has persisted now for more than three weeks:

About a million of California's poorest undocumented immigrants would have access to basic low-cost health care under a plan being pushed at the Capitol. President Barack Obama's federal health care overhaul excludes undocumented immigrants, but some California leaders want to fill that gap by offering a safety net of primary and preventive care that does not consider immigration status. The county-run program would give undocumented immigrants – and legal residents who can't afford health insurance but don't qualify for Medi-Cal – the ongoing opportunity to see a doctor, get tested and receive treatment before minor health problems become severe. Funding...

The 911 caller facing up to 18 months in jail after falsely claiming he was robbed at gunpoint the night Pasadena police shot and killed unarmed teenage robbery suspect Kendrec McDade has been offered a plea deal, his attorney said Friday. Oscar Carrillo, 27, is charged with one count of making a false report of a criminal offense and a second count of reporting an emergency knowing the report was false. In exchange for a guilty plea, his attorney said his client would serve a 90-day jail sentence and community service.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The family of a four-year-old Valley boy murdered in 2009 is now facing another potential tragedy. The murder victim's father may soon be deported, which would leave his wife and six other children behind in Kerman. Luis Mercado is in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to his wife, Mindy Mercado. .

Immigrants detained in Southern California for possible deportation must be given a hearing within six months to determine whether they should be released, a federal appeals court decided Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s order requiring the federal government to provide hearings to immigrants who are incarcerated in Southern California, including those arrested while entering the country or those with a criminal history. “Contrary to the government’s rhetoric, this injunction will not flood our streets with fearsome criminals seeking to escape the force of American immigration law,” Judge Kim McLane...

Four young men shared their experiences growing up in the United States without legal immigration status Sunday during an Easter Sunday rally advocating for immigration reform. With bullhorn in hand to share their stories, they carried a banner reading, "We will no longer remain in the shadows." The small rally was held by members of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of the Immigrant Youth Coalition at Morgan Park, at Ramona and Baldwin Park boulevards. "I have never been arrested. I have no criminal record. Yet I am considered a criminal for being here unintentionally," said Kevin Flores, 22, of Rosemead....

Kyle Kester loved the local people and the rugged landscape north of Guadalajara, where he had built a sprawling stucco home.Kyle Kester’s parents admit they weren’t thrilled when he built his dream home tucked in a rocky, secluded valley 18 miles north of Guadalajara. They worried for his safety in the isolated Mexican countryside where the nearest neighbor was a half-hour ride down a rutted dirt road, passable at times only by motorcycle, or whether the state-of-the-art 6,000-square-foot stucco house in a poverty-stricken land could make him a target for thieves, or worse. The 38-year-old Apple Valley native reassured his...

At least 20 reputed members of one of Los Angeles' most notorious gangs have been indicted in connection with a violent extortion racket that targeted food-truck operators in the Hollywood area over at least five years, according to state grand jury records unsealed Monday in a downtown courtroom. The 20 defendants — including four women — named in indictments returned Jan. 28 are allegedly tied to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. The individuals, charged with extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion, are all being held on bail ranging from $2 million to just more than $3 million. At least five other...

"We need immigration reform. We need it for ourselves, our children, and every one of our families,"said Veronica Chavez, a field worker who addressed the audience before Gutierrez. "I want to ask all of you to do our part and attend the march so we stop being afraid." Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a prominent figure in the national movement for immigration reform, fired up a Salinas crowd Sunday morning with his remarks about the need for legalizing undocumented workers. "Today, 1,400 people were deported. Yesterday, also 1,400 people were deported. Tomorrow, another 1,400 people will be deported," he said in Spanish....

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- He's filed more than 600 ADA lawsuits against small business owners in Southern California, but now, the serial plaintiff, illegal immigrant and convicted felon may be out of business himself. He has stopped filing news ADA lawsuits, but not before he was caught in another lie. Alfredo Garcia has been ordered back to Mexico. Garcia was arrested on immigration violations in February 2011. But while his case -- and now his appeal -- work through the courts, Garcia remains free. He is monitored but not incarcerated. "This guy doesn't work. He's been here for past how...

California Dream Act: 20,000 illegal immigrant students apply for state financial aid for the first time.. More than 20,000 college-bound students are seeking state financial aid for the first time under California's new Dream Act law that allows them to get the help despite their immigration status. While far from a complete picture, that number -- which matched state estimates -- is the best indicator yet of how many students statewide hope to benefit from a pair of laws known as the California Dream Act that took full effect in January. The changes could radically change the college experience for...

As Congress looks toward meaningful immigration reform, we must take care not to neglect one of the most heartbreaking problems within the current, broken system: what happens to children when their parents or guardians are deported. Currently, according to the Applied Research Center's report "Shattered Families," at least 5,000 children of immigrants live in U.S. foster care because their parents were detained or deported. If the current trends hold, the center estimates, 15,000 more children over the next five years will be ripped away from their mothers and fathers as a result of federal immigration enforcement actions. In the wake...

HANFORD -- Pablo Reyes-Morales walked into the Navy recruiting station here Thursday and tried to enlist. But the 21-year-old, a native of Mexico who can now legally work under the new federal "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" policy, lacks a green card that's required for foreign nationals to join the military. Under the "Deferred Action" policy, young undocumented people who were brought to the U.S. as children and who are in school or have completed high school and have no serious criminal record are eligible to get a Social Security number and authorization card from the Department of Homeland Security,...

LOS ANGELES — Retired Cardinal Roger Mahony and other top Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles officials maneuvered behind the scenes to shield molester priests, provide damage control for the church and keep parishioners in the dark, according to church personnel files.

In the midst of national debates on fiscal cliffs and gun control, could this also be the time to tackle our immigration woes? Let’s be honest and agree that U.S. immigration policy is a complete disaster. For too many decades, this country has ignored violations of our immigration laws, and now we have a real mess on our hands — an estimated 11 million people who have entered the country illegally and are living and working here under the radar. Whose fault is it? There is plenty of blame to go around, so I suggest we don’t even go there...

WASHINGTON (KABC) -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was in the national spotlight Monday calling for federal immigration reform. With so many priorities in Washington D.C. right now, the mayor said he doesn't want this issue to fall off the radar screen. Villaraigosa spoke at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and called repairing the nation's broken immigration system an economic imperative. He wants a pathway to citizenship as the core of any reforms. "No human being is illegal. No human being should be illegal. We must enshrine this principle into the heart and soul of this country's immigration...

The 2013-14 online application will be available January 14th, which will give students enough time to complete and submit the application before the March 2nd deadline. The online application is better because it has built in edits to help students from making common errors. However, if you want to complete the 2013-14 application now, please click the 2013-14 Paper The California Dream Act, authored by Assembly Member Gil Cedillo (Los Angeles), became law through the passage of two Assembly Bills, AB 130 and AB 131. AB 130 allows students who meet AB 540 criteria (California Education Code 68130.5(a)) to apply...

SAN DIEGO -- When it comes to how California handles illegal immigrants, the state is all over the map. Not unlike the rest of the country, the Golden State can't decide whether it wants to make life comfortable for the undocumented or make them so unhappy that it runs them off. 'Twas always thus. Consider my home state's history over the past few decades. In the 1980s, Republican Sen. Pete Wilson of California -- at the behest of agribusiness -- drove support for the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which President Ronald Reagan signed into law in 1986. The legislation...

The debate over U.S. immigration policy has been rebooted. There now appears to be bipartisan support for what's generally called comprehensive reform. But a stumbling block remains: What to do about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants among us. Deportation? Complete amnesty? A "path" to citizenship? There is a way forward, and it can be best summarized by "none of the above." It lies, instead, between these choices. It's legalization without citizenship . With as few conditions and as broadly as possible, we should offer undocumented immigrants status as "permanent noncitizen residents." Unlike current green card holders, these individuals would...

BERKELEY, Calif.—The University of California, Berkeley says a $1 million gift will help provide scholarships to nearly 200 students who are illegal immigrants

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An autopsy report says a Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a mother of five after she hit him with her vehicle fired his gun 10 times from the hood of her car as he tried to get the woman to stop

The student government at the University of California-Berkeley (CAL) passed a resolution last month that would ban Salvation Army bell ringers and their iconic red kettles from campus this Christmas because of the Christian organization’s alleged bias against homosexuality. UC Berkeley is "reviewing" whether or not they will prohibit the Salvation Army from operating on campus this Christmas, after students passed a resolution condemning the charity. The resolution, cleared on November 14, accuses the charity of openly discriminating against gay individuals. “Salvation Army church services, including charity services, are available only to people ‘who accept and abide by the Salvation...

The force field protecting Jirayut Latthivongskorn comes from a glossy, federally issued work permit that wards off deportation and lets him get a job, overcoming the legal barriers that have long clouded his ambitions and shadowed his life. Mailed to homes in fast-growing numbers, the cards are changing the lives of about 300,000 young immigrants, a quarter of them from California, who took a leap of faith this fall by revealing their presence to the U.S. government. Latthivongskorn's plastic card, with its 2014 expiration date etched between his fingerprint and photograph, symbolizes what he calls his "two-year lease on life...

Marty Morgenstern, the secretary of the California agency that substantially under-reported unemployment claims last week, contributed to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election campaign, The Daily Caller has learned. On Oct. 11, the federal government reported that weekly jobless claims were down significantly, suggesting a dramatic national increase in economic growth. But within hours, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that one major state had failed to fully document jobless claims. Speculation among market watchers and economists initially focused on California, but the state’s Employment Development Department strongly denied that it had failed to properly document the data. “Reports that...

VERO BEACH — An undercover investigator posing as a corrupt immigration agent led to the arrests of four people at the Vero Beach Bangkok restaurant and helped foil an elaborate scheme where undocumented workers from Thailand were paying as much as $30,000 to obtain illegal green cards. Agents arrested Bangkok owner Sarah Tipfun and the others after they raided the popular 14th Avenue restaurant last week.

Less than a third of a gram of "concentrated marijuana" might get Juan Carlos Rivera deported. The 24-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Sacramento County jail for more than four months while he awaits a decision in his deportation case.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck stepped into the national immigration debate Thursday, announcing that hundreds of illegal immigrants arrested by his officers each year in low-level crimes would no longer be turned over to federal authorities for deportation. The new rules, which are expected to affect about 400 people arrested each year, mark a dramatic attempt by the nation's second-largest police department to distance itself from federal immigration policies that Beck says are unfair to undocumented immigrants suspected of committing petty offenses.

California voters support path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, say no to driver's licenses: California voters oppose granting driver's licenses and in-state tuition breaks to illegal immigrants, though most voters support creating a path to citizenship, according to a Field Poll released today. The findings come as Gov. Jerry Brown is considering Assembly Bill 2189, which would allow a segment of the state's 2.5 million illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in California. The Field Poll found that 56 percent of registered voters believe that illegal immigrants in California should not be able to get a driver's license, compared with...

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services reported that more than $100 million in welfare benefits were issued to illegal alien parents for their native-born children in June and July alone, announced Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. The $100 million consists of nearly $40 million in CalWORKs (welfare) and $70 million in food stamps — representing 22% of all CalWORKs and food stamp issuances in the County. At this rate, the projected annual cost is more than $625 million. “With the $550 million for public safety and nearly $500 million for healthcare, the total cost for illegal immigrants to...

A group of illegal immigrants from the Phoenix area is headed to Los Angeles to be part of a rally urging Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a bill known as "The Trust Act." The measure, passed by the California legislature last month, would limit the cooperation between state and local police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At a news conference outside the Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, some of those who are making the trip referred to The Trust Act as "the anti-SB 1070," referring to Arizona's immigration enforcement law. A provision of that law, which was just recently allowed to...

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- A Mexican who has been deported three times was in federal custody Wednesday in Escondido on suspicion of fondling himself inside a vehicle while watching children walk to school. Antonio Montoya-Senteno was spotted in the 1200 block of North Broadway about 7:20 a.m. and, based on witness reports, arrested at El Norte Parkway and Escondido Boulevard, Escondido police Lt. Chris Wynn said. U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers at the Escondido police station as part of Operation Joint Effort questioned Montoya-Senteno and determined he had been deported three times, he said

Several Inland immigration activists took part in a demonstration at the state Capitol in Sacramento Tuesday urging Gov. Jerry Brown to sign the Trust Act into law. (here are some photos from KUVS-TV in Sacramento; the story is in Spanish). The bill, which cleared its final legislative hurdle last week with Senate passage, would prevent police from handing over detainees arrested for non-violent crimes to federal immigration officials for possible deportation. Immigration holds could still be put on people charged or convicted of serious or violent felonies. Riverside and San Bernardino counties are among more than 3,000 jurisdictions nationwide that...

Blanca Perez was selling ice cream in the San Fernando Valley last year when police arrested her, seized her cart, tossed her frozen treats and sent her fingerprints to federal immigration authorities. She pleaded guilty to illegal vending and, just as she was to be released, was told she was to be held for officers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Now advocates are hailing a controversial bill weaving its way through the California Legislature as a means to prevent suspected illegal immigrants picked up for minor offenses from spending extended time in jail beyond their scheduled release....

San Diego, California (CNN) -- Juana Reyes didn't think that selling chicken, pork and chili cheese tamales would buy her a one-way ticket out of the country. But it just might. Reyes is a Sacramento, California, woman who the media is calling "the tamale lady." A 46-year-old single mother of two and illegal immigrant, Reyes faces deportation by the Obama administration. So what's the problem? Aren't illegal immigrants supposed to be deported?Sure. But there are rules to the game, and the administration keeps breaking them. This case undermines the claim that the immigration crackdown is targeting hardened criminals. Reyes' trouble...

Maria Gomez stood with the Class of 2011, waiting to climb the stage. The sun was bright on the UCLA campus, her fellow graduates buoyant. To reach this elite company, she'd worked baby-sitting and housecleaning jobs, scraping up tuition from quarter to quarter. She'd lived on Cup Noodles and granola bars from the food bank when money ran out. She'd spent nights sleeping on the floor of the campus printing room. At 26, she was getting her master's in architecture from one of the nation's top schools. But the triumph felt hollow, her sense of achievement tangled up with bitterness...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Illegal immigrants will no longer have to fear losing their vehicles during routine traffic stops if a bill passed by the Assembly becomes law.

Orange's Undocumented (Illegal!) Immigrants (Aliens!) Stay a Step Ahead to Steal Work From Americans Based on his youthful looks alone, Luis Martinez Hernandez stood out Wednesday morning among a dozen or so day laborers that stood along Taft Avenue just west of Tustin Street in Orange. The 23-year-old Mexican shot a quick smile. "I just looking for work," he said. He stood next to Hernando Cortez, who said he is "40 maybe", and is looking for anything -- painting, construction work, whatever -- to earn some money. And so continues the saga of Orange's day laborers. Here's hoping they're not...

According to a new report undocumented immigrants are being pushed into the shadows of society and forced to live in fear. The study looks at how restrictive immigration policies are affecting the lives of undocumented immigrants. The study comes from the Center for American Progress, a think-tank in Washington D.C. The center partnered with researchers at UCSD's Center of Comparative Immigration Studies, specifically looking at the lives of undocumented immigrants in Northern San Diego County.

In this case of David vs. Goliath, Goliath wins. An undocumented immigrant from Mexico sues Bank of America after he's nearly deported when his bank manager turns him over to authorities. Lawyers for Luis Martinez ask: Do you want your banker acting as a de facto immigration agent?

Tess Vigeland: This week as part of our election coverage, The Real Economy, we're hearing from people across the country about the issues that matter most to them. Today, San Diego resident Nancy Parker argues illegal immigration hurts the economy -- more than helps it. Nancy Parker: It's time we did something about illegal immigration in the United States. I always hear talk about the economic benefits of illegal immigration -- cheap labor and all -- but it also has economic costs nobody seems to mention. Many who work here illegally don't keep the money they earn in this country....

Federal officials are not pursuing potential deportation of the 12 illegal immigrants arrested in Tuesday’s protest in downtown San Bernardino against federal immigration programs and policies. The protesters were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly and refusal to disperse after blocking traffic on streets in front of San Bernardino City Hall and a local office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE routinely screens jail inmates in San Bernardino County for immigration violations. The county’s collaboration with ICE was one of the reasons for the protest. In many cases, ICE places detainers on suspected illegal immigrants. They are then transferred...

It was a show of civil disobedience, and according to organizers of the event that was accomplished by holding multiple sit-ins that risked arrest and deportation.

Hours after Gov. Jerry Brown issued a spirited attack on politicians who doubt the significance of climate change, Brown's predecessor -- former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- praised Brown but urged a spirit of inclusiveness. "To me, it made no difference if a Democrat had a great idea or a Republican had a great idea, or if someone from the outside had a great idea, or if someone from within the office had a great idea," Schwarzenegger said this afternoon at Brown's conference on climate change at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco. "The more inclusive you are about...