Free Republic

Mexican authorities are distributing more than 1 million copies of an illustrated handbook that gives migrants illegally crossing the U.S. border safety tips, suggesting that they carry enough water, follow railroad tracks and utility lines if they get lost and wear clothing that will protect them from the elements. The new handbooks, the latest effort by the Mexican government to educate people about the dangers of unsanctioned crossings, has angered some anti-immigrant groups that say parts of it read like a how-to manual. "It's an encouragement that will lead to more illegal aliens coming," said Rick Oltman, a spokesman for...

A 32-page "Guide For the Mexican Migrant" that tells illegal immigrants how to cross the U.S. border, and how to stay in the U.S. unobtrusively, was supposedly intended to keep Mexican citizens from risking breaking into the United States because it's dangerous, kills hundreds of Mexican migrants annually, and violates U.S. law.To hear Mexican officials tell it, their government is all about law and order — which is why critics shouldn't take a new guide providing migrants with tips for sneaking into, then remaining, in the United States, the wrong way. "We are a country that respects the law and...

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico on Tuesday defended a government comic book showing illegal migrants how to cross the border and live quietly in the United States against charges that it promotes undocumented immigration. The 32-page color primer, published by Mexico's foreign ministry in December, gives would-be migrants tips including how to swim across the Rio Grande and avoid dehydration in the desert. It also sets out their legal rights on detention. Some U.S. groups and newspaper editorial writers have slammed the booklet as a "how-to" manual for 1 million or more Mexicans who attempt the illegal crossing each year....

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A top fund-raiser for an Islamic charity with alleged links to terrorism testified Monday he believed the donations were used only for humanitarian projects, and asked to be freed while he fights deportation. Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, 44, a founder of a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges last month as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, charging the Texas-based charity funneled millions to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Hamdan's detention has sparked protests by Southern California Muslims who see it as an unfair pressure tactic to get...

Last Sunday evening, Teresa Heinz Kerry admonished delegates to the Democratic National Convention to restore a more civil tone to American politics. Then, as soon as she was done, she hurried off the stage to scold Colin McNickle, the editorial page editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, telling him to "shove it" for quoting her correctly.(1) Marla Romash, Teresa Heinz Kerry's spokeswoman, told WTAE-TV's Scott Baker, "This was sheer frustration, aimed at a right-wing rag, that has consistently and purposely misrepresented the facts in reporting on Mrs. Kerry and her family." John Kerry has a butler follow behind him everywhere he...