Free Republic

In the largest such operation in U.S. history, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 286 foreign nationals in California with criminal records in a three-day enforcement surge that ended Thursday night. Of those taken into custody, 119 were from Northern California and 24 were from the San Jose area. ICE reported that about 80 percent of the immigrants taken into custody had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes such as rape, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Also arrested were 30 convicted sex offenders, many of whom had been convicted of sexual assaults on children. At...

WEST PALM BEACH — Was the death of a popular middle school principal an accident or was it vehicular homicide? An accident, a jury has now decided. Jurors returned not-guilty verdicts this afternoon in the case against Cesar Mejia, a 32-year-old driver who prosecutors say blew through a red light striking the vehicle of Western Pines Middle School principal Margaret Campbell, killing her. Mejia's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Shawnee Lawrence, had argued before jurors that Mejia was driving the speed limit and in no way, shape or form wanted to run a red ight and kill another human being. "Tragic?...

Just returned a so-called "Democrat Leadership Performance Assessment" form to the National Republican Congressional Committee across which I scrawled in BIG RED LETTERS the following: "CLOSE THE BORDERS, SEND THEM BACK AND NO MORE SMOKE AND MIRRORS SHAMNESTY BILLS!" I'd urge everyone who gets a mailing from these elitist pigs in Washington (from either party) to do something similar.

Robert Rector stirred up the puddin' inside the beltway yesterday. Who is Robert Rector? He is the Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation specializing in welfare, poverty and marriage. He is a leading and respected authority in Washington on poverty and the U.S. welfare system. Yesterday Heritage released a special report written by Rector and Christine Kim titled "The Fiscal Cost of Low-Skill Immigrants to the U.S. Taxpayer." You can read the entire report right here [pdf], or you can click here for the executive summary. You aren't going to hear very much about this report from the mainstream...

Well the day is finally here. It is a day where our Congress and our President have come together to grant legal residency and then citizenship to millions of illegal aliens who broke the law. Criminals in this country will be on a fast track to becoming citizens, with the same rights and benefits as you and me. A couple of points about the proposal: First, there are only vague references to closing our borders. It won't happen. The borders will remain porous and the Mexican invasion of the United States will continue. The count now is between 12 and...

Lawmaker: Ban 'illegal aliens' – just the words Florida legislator thinks A-word is 'somebody who is from another planet' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Florida Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami Here's a novel way to solve the controversy over illegal aliens in America. Just ban the use of the words "illegal alien." That's what a Florida state legislator proposes when it comes to official documents in the Sunshine State. "To me an alien is somebody who is from another planet," Democrat Sen. Frederica Wilson told the Miami Herald. "There are so many other synonyms that would be more dignified for human beings."...

Border barrier moving forward 9 August 2006By Jonathan Clark Sierra Vista Herald/Review BISBEE — Plans by the Minuteman Civilian Defense Corps to build a border barrier on the Bisbee-area ranch of Richard Hodges are moving forward, with groundbreaking on the project likely to begin later this month, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. “We’re getting ready to survey, we’ve got bulldozers and materials ready to go, and we’ve got the camera company ready to test camera systems down there,” said Minuteman spokeswoman Connie Hair. “Everything is pressing forward.” The civilian anti-illegal-immigration group had initially hoped to break ground on the fence in...

Press Releases :: July 26, 2006 Will Adams, 202.226.6997 Tancredo Introduces Bill to Halt Illegal Alien Voting WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Chairman of the 104-Member House Immigration Reform Caucus, introduced a bill that would penalize states which refuse to require proof of U.S. citizenship for voting. Under the Voter Integrity Protection Act (VIP Act), states would need to see a valid photo ID proving U.S. Citizenship for voting or those states would have their federal highway funding cut by as much as 40 percent. “In some parts of our country, all residents are granted a de facto...

Bush task force to assist aliens By Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES June 8, 2006 OMAHA, Neb. -- President Bush yesterday announced the creation of a task force to expand English, civics and history lessons as he pushes his plan for longtime illegal aliens to gain a path to citizenship. He said the government must take an active role in assimilation, a move he called critical both for the nation and for those who have entered its borders.

   Approaching 212 Degrees Fahrenheit May 18, 2006 A funny thing happened on my way to opening an HSA (Health Savings Account)...I was once again reminded how inferior hard-working taxpayers are to: criminals; illegal immigrants and members of Congress (am I being redundant?). As most Americans know, you have to be a legal entity to open any variety of savings or investment accounts.  Wells Fargo Bank makes it clear that, “In order to open an account, federal law requires that we obtain your name, street address, date of birth...and taxpayer identification number, which will be used to verify your identity. We...

Come Home, Mr. President by Rep. Tom Tancredo Posted May 15, 2006 President Bush will deliver a televised address to the nation tonight on immigration policy. It is his first address from the Oval Office on immigration, and if it not successful, it may be his last. In this speech, the President needs to do three things to accomplish his goals. There is a road to consensus and success if the President will take it. It is not only a path to consensus -- it is a path to success for the Republican Party in November. In his Monday...

Kolbe watching BP checkpoints in area By Jonathan Clark Herald/Review BISBEE — Congressman Jim Kolbe said he would be “closely watching” the Border Patrol’s management of traffic revision points in the area after the officer in charge of the agency’s Naco station said that a permanent checkpoint on Highway 90 would be reinstated. Kolbe has long opposed permanent Border Patrol revision points, which he says are predictable and ineffective. Instead, he advocates roving checkpoints and has inserted a provision into Border Patrol appropriations bills requiring the agency’s Tucson Sector to relocate checkpoints on a regular basis. “The law allows checkpoints,...

For the last couple weeks I have written about my feelings and the history surrounding the illegal immigration problem in America. This problem and the lack of our government doing anything to stop or deal with it this has a majority of people on both sides of the political spectrum upset. Everyone is talking about it and getting upset because our government is doing nothing to deal with it. This is most likely going to decide the outcome of the next few elections in this nation both local and on a state and federal levels. We see demonstrations all the...

A strike against America Patrick J. Buchanan Posted: May 2, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 Creators Syndicate Inc. It was billed as "A Day Without Immigrants." According to its propagandists, official and media, the purpose of the May Day walkout from schools and jobs and boycott of shops and stores was to show how much immigrants contribute and how they deserve appreciation and respect, and not to be treated like criminals. But if this was all it was about, there would have been no need to go on strike. Americans have always welcomed immigrants. They are better treated here...

When figuring ways to shape public opinion, the first thing any savvy strategist does is craft phrases that will elicit a desired response. Want people to have a more positive reaction to dead Iraqi civilians? Call them "collateral damage." Want to get Americans to feel good about government spying? Name your law "The Patriot Act." If you can control the words people use, you can frame the issue. In effect, you control the way people view it. That is exactly what is happening with the immigration debate. To avoid dealing with complex problems in our nation - crumbling public schools,...

Ron Tapia is an 18-year-old high school student in St. Paul, Minn., who marched with 30,000 other supporters of "immigrant rights." Tapia is a sympathetic figure. Unlike others who participated in demonstrations across the country, he doesn't appear to be one of those angry radicals seeking to reclaim the Southwestern United States for Mexicans in the name of the reconquista. Tapia hopes to "change the way America thinks" about illegal immigrants. "We're not criminals," he says, "we're just regular people like everybody else here. All we want is a good American life." Tapia was born in Mexico and entered the...

I MAY HAVE ENGRAVED ON MY TOMBSTONE:"SHE MADE JOHN McCAIN MAD!" After attending Senator McCain's morning Town Hall yesterday, I was so disgusted at the way the local politicians censored citizen questions that I abandoned the idea of attending the evening session. The Tempe mayor laid down the ground rules: only questions and no "speeches" (which obviously included statements that disputed McCain's claims). It was a royal sham from the word go, just like Bush press conferences. I'm sure it was packed with McCain toadies, because they started a standing ovation when he walked in and of course most people...

You've got to hand it to Americans. If ever there was a group of people more patient, more willing to turn the other cheek, more forgiving and tolerant – I just don't know who it would be. Every day now, it seems, hundreds of thousands of ungrateful human parasites rally in American cities condemning their host country's lack of hospitality. Think about this. Somewhere around 20 million foreigners have entered this country illegally and stayed here – taking advantage of America's health-care system, educational system, welfare system, taxing its criminal justice system and competing for jobs with those at the...

State lawmaker questions use of buses at rally By Jeff Commings arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.12.2006 The use of buses to transport students from a protest back to school and a speech by a prominent activist has made a local school district the continued target of a state legislator. And more schools are likely to be criticized this week for their actions during recent student demonstrations against proposed immigration laws. Rep. Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican, sent a letter to Tucson Unified School District officials last week, questioning the use of employee time and pay to send...

Kennedy-McCain Bill Resurrected! April 6 11:30 pm Dear Friend, I just came from our weekly immigration coalition dinner, and I can’t wait until the morning to tell you what the great Senate of the United States has in mind for us. And as always I need you to get back on the phones and call as soon as you get this e-mail. We can’t let this bill pass! Tomorrow morning, 10:30 am, the Senate is scheduled to vote to allow the Hagel Martinez bill to go to the floor for a vote. If Senators Frist and Reid can garner 60...

(Repost without Tucson Citizen excerpts) Marxist agitator and pro-ILLEGAL alien activist Dolores Huerta was an invited guest speaker at a special assembly at Tucson High Magnet School the day after massive student walkouts in support of illegal aliens. Huerta was the co-founder, with Cesar Chavez, of the United Farm Workers Union and is one of the national leaders of the latest protests and rallies supporting illegal alients. During her speech Huerta told many outright lies without being challenged by school officials or students. She even went so far as to state such outrageous things as "We didn't cross the border....

Just got word that our wonderful US protest culture is sponsoring a general strike / work stoppage to protest the compromise legislation that basically grants amnesty as it isn't enough for them.

John McCain SCREAMS AT 9/11 FSA MEMBERS FOR OPPOSING HIS BILL TO GIVE AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS McCain CHALLENGES PETER GADIEL TO DEBATE HIM IN ARIZONA . GADIEL ACCEPTS CHALLENGE ENCOUNTER WITH JOHN McCAIN: At the end of a week of lobbying, we accidentally met Sen. John McCain just outside the Russell Senate Office Building . Joan, Bruce and I approached him identified ourselves as 9/11 family members. We told him we opposed his amnesty bill and of our promise to hold accountable members of Congress who vote for it for the acts of violence that result. The following conversation resulted:...

State Sen. Cathy Stepp released the following statement: Stepp Will Pursue Charges Leaders of a Hispanic activist group known as Voces de la Frontera believe that in America, it is better to storm the home of an elected official and yell in their windows after dark to intimidate someone rather than to run for office to change policy. On the evening of Friday, December 16th, a group of people advocating the issuing of drivers’ licenses to non-citizens appeared outside my windows yelling and attempting to intimidate me into voting against Assembly Bill 69. AB 69 requires that a person applying...

Kolbe's retirement could change immigration debate By JENNIFER TALHELM Tuesday, November 29, 2005 10:10 PM MST Associated Press WASHINGTON — If he’s lucky, Rep. Jim Kolbe’s last big accomplishment before retiring from the House next year could be helping to overhaul the nation’s immigration policy. But a day after President Bush visited Arizona to promote his own immigration plans, experts predict lawmakers are still too divided over immigration to pass comprehensive legislation next year. That means Kolbe, a 22-year veteran of the House who announced his retirement last week, may leave before lawmakers decide the fate of a guest worker...

Shadegg lobbies, Bush shifts By Patrick O’Connor Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) sent the White House a list in mid-October outlining 22 concerns the administration should address before pushing a comprehensive guest-worker overhaul. The list was compiled during a series of Unity Dinners Shadegg convened throughout the fall to debate the contentious issue of immigration reform within the Republican Conference. Many of those 22 concerns were included in the comprehensive reform plan President Bush outlined Monday. In focusing on increased border enforcement, Bush has shifted gears significantly from the guest-worker overhaul he outlined almost two years ago, and the regular dialogue...

Since 1999, RINO Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona's 8th District has added to "must pass" national security appropriations bills language which shuts down all permanent Border Patrol checkpoints in his district only. He's done this despite the fact that the Border Patrol insists that these checkpoints are key tools in their border security arsenal. He's done this despite that fact that the GAO has released a report that says that shutting down the checkpoints has reduced Border Patrol effectiveness in the Tucson sector by 77%. He's done this, ignoring the outrage of his constituents who live along the border who...

SASABE, Sonora - Four smugglers stand on a hilltop overlooking the United States, watching the slow-moving white SUVs of the federal agents below. "It's a game. You win or lose, but you got to try. Somebody gots to do it," said Diego Cansíno, leaning against the collapsing brick wall of the squat building behind him, drinking from a can of Tecate and keeping an eye on the U.S. Border Patrol agents less than a mile away. For the smugglers in Sasabe, Sonora, business has never been better. This little town 65 miles southwest of Tucson doesn't have a gas station...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, please contact Steve Aiken at (520) 887-2984 Graf Prediction on GAO Comes True! Congressman Kolbe responsible for 77% reduction in Border Patrol effectiveness. (Tucson) – Randy Graf was proven to be correct again when he forecast the following in a press release, dated June 1, 2005: “Very shortly, the GAO (Government Accountability Office) will clearly report that permanent border checkpoints are in the nation’s best Homeland Security interest.” [Click Here.] After a nine-month review of the border checkpoint situation, the GAO has issued a report (www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-435 - July 22, 2005), concluding that not having...

The Houston Police Department has instructed officers not to photograph illegal immigrants seeking day jobs, after an incident last month prompted an outcry from an immigrant rights group. Houston police Capt. Juan Trevino made the pledge to 400 people who attended a meeting Tuesday night organized by The Metropolitan Organization, an interfaith grass-roots political action group.

Guest Opinion: Enforcement, not reform, of immigration laws needed RANDY GRAF Tucson Citizen The Tucson Citizen published a June 6 opinion piece on border policy by U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe. The irony is so thick, one could cut it with a knife. Mr. Kolbe declared, "We don't need a Band-Aid; we need major surgery." What he failed to tell readers is that he has been prescribing the small bandages all these years. Frankly, we need a new doctor. I have read the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005, as espoused by Mr. Kolbe and U.S. Sens. John McCain...

Mexicans abroad get to vote If they hold a Mexican voter card, they may participate in the country's next presidential election for the first time. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES - Mexican immigrants across the United States celebrated yesterday as lawmakers in Mexico approved a bill that will allow them to vote for the first time from abroad in the country's presidential election. Some expatriates said the new system still excludes many potential voters, particularly illegal immigrants in the United States who lack Mexico's voter registration card and are afraid to leave the country to get it. Still, the new...

Bush's guest-worker proposal lured illegal entrants, poll says WIRE REPORTS President Bush's proposal for a guest-worker program encouraged some people to enter the United States unlawfully because they believed they would be allowed to participate, according to a poll of illegal entrants detained by the Border Patrol. Sixty-one percent of about 870 illegal entrants arrested by Border Patrol agents said they had heard of the program, and 45 percent said it influenced their decision to come to America illegally, according to the January survey. The results were released Tuesday by Judicial Watch, a public-policy group that obtained the documents as...

Group rips Bush gag on border surveys Billy House Republic Washington Bureau Jun. 29, 2005 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - A White House-approved gag order was imposed on U.S. Border Patrol agents regarding information that President Bush's "temporary guest worker" proposal inspired more illegal border crossings from Mexico, a group charged Tuesday . The non-profit conservative Judicial Watch said it had acquired and analyzed government documents showing that in the weeks after Bush announced his proposal on Jan. 7, 2004, as many as 45 percent of those caught arriving illegally from Mexico told agents they believed Bush was offering an amnesty...

By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES A coalition of civilian volunteers in the United States and Canada yesterday said it has begun the first stages in developing internationally supported citizen patrols along the U.S.-Canada border patterned after the Minuteman Project in April in Arizona. The American-Canadian Conservative Coalition, in concert with Minuteman Project organizer Chris Simcox, said it is preparing for its first vigil along the border in Michigan, south of Ontario, and is actively working to expand the watch to every state and province along the northern U.S. border. This first project will be called the Michigan-Ontario Minuteman Border...

June 2, 2005 For Immediate Release BORDER PATROL UNION DENOUNCES WITCH HUNT OF FRONT-LINE AGENTS The recent press release from the Office of Special Counsel alleging the numerous front-line Border Patrol agents temporarily assigned to Arizona "engaged in extensive kickback and fraudulent reimbursement schemes" is extremely misleading and unfairly implies corruption where none exists. These so-called "kickback" amounted to nothing more than the acceptance of free meals in conjunction with lodging, a common and legitimate practice in the hotel industry. In an attempt to compete with some of the amenities offered by hotels within the commuting area, such as free...

PUBLISHED ON JUNE 2, 2005: Catastrophe in Care Hospitals are being crippled by the costs of treating migrants--and that could be just the start of an immigrant-related health crisis By LEO W. BANKS One of the many signs on the Naco Highway. If you drive along Southern Arizona's border with Mexico long enough, you might see a lone illegal wandering the desert. Or maybe he's hunched at the roadside sipping water from his milk jug. What's he doing there, and where are his compatriots, the people he broke into the country with? The uninformed might ask those questions, but those...

Web site told to stop encouraging harassment of Minuteman project Associated Press May. 17, 2005 07:10 AM An Internet company will force one of its Web site clients to stop encouraging harassment of the Minutemen project that cracks down on illegal immigrants along the Arizona border. The Scottsdale-based Go Daddy Group said the Swarmtheminuteman.com site, which has been on the Web for less than one week, could face being shut down unless it complies. Swarmtheminutemen.com reportedly is encouraging people to go into the desert border areas to blast their radios or bang pots and pans together in an effort to...

Mark Stine KOLD News 13 Reporter Posted: 5-15-05 "We're two and a half miles from the border everything you see down there is Mexico." Joe Scelso owns the Rockin JP Ranch in Cochise County. He's been dealing with illegal immigrants for nearly a decade. "I've picked up probably, in the last 8 years, a couple hundred backpacks." Scelso says the Minutemen Project in April must have left an ongoing effect on the border, because it's still pretty quiet around his ranch. "It wasn't until they did show up down here that we finally got the relief we've been hoping for,...

U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned.

Conservatives blast McCain-Kennedy guest worker plan Mike Sunnucks The Business Journal The Business Journal of Phoenix - 1:55 PM MST Thursday Conservative immigration hawks are assailing a new immigration-reform package introduced Thursday by Arizona Sen. John McCain, U.S. Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe and Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. The McCain-Kennedy bill includes a guest worker program and pathway towards legal status for illegals already in the U.S. Arizona and national business interests support a guest worker program to license immigrants wishing to work in the U.S. Conservatives oppose anything that smacks of amnesty. That includes proposals put forward in...

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AFL-CIO BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY AND CLAIMS COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE NEW “DUAL MISSIONS” OF THE IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES PRESENTED BY T.J. BONNER NATIONAL PRESIDENT MAY 5, 2005 The National Border Patrol Council thanks the Subcommittee for the opportunity to present the views and concerns of the 10,000 front-line Border Patrol employees that it represents regarding the expanded mission of the agencies responsible for enforcing immigration laws. Even before the creation of the Department...

Peter Busch ReportsCongressman says Border Patrol defying checkpoint laws May 2, 2005, 01:34 PM MST On Capitol Hill last Thursday, The U.S. Border Patrol's head man, David Aguilar, told U.S. senators that permanent checkpoints in the Tucson sector would help his agents catch more illegal immigrants. The sector is the only one along the U.S.- Mexico border not permitted to establish permanent checkpoints. Congressman Jim Kolbe wants to keep it that way. "I don't object to checkpoints. The idea of tactical, mobile checkpoints, that move from place to place just like we do all law enforcement, makes sense," says Kolbe....

Hayworth Statement at Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus News Conference "What the Minutemen proved to the American people was this: the federal government can do something about illegal immigration other than to raise a white flag and surrender to the invasion on our southern border. "Now it's up to every American to get involved in this critical struggle to preserve our security and our sovereignty by demanding that this administration and this Congress stop thinking about amnesty and start enforcing our immigration laws. "I saw the Minutemen at the border up close and in person and I was amazed by...

Minuteman effort serves as a warning EQUAL TIME: Dan Stein says Americans are tired of immigration laws being ignored. Few things are more misleading than the frequently made argument that it is simply impossible to control America's borders. Nothing could be farther from the truth - and the Minuteman Project demonstrated this in the plainest terms imaginable. A few hundred everyday Americans in lawn chairs armed only with walkie-talkies were able to curtail a substantial amount of the illegal traffic routinely crossing our borders. In the process, they humiliated national politicians, presidents of United States and Mexico and a wide...

Military's use on the border expands BY BILL HESS Thursday, April 21, 2005 5:37 PM MDT Herald/Review NACO, Ariz. - Military units are now allowed to do more along the U.S.-Mexico border, which includes helping to spot illegal immigrants, a spokesman for Joint Task Force North said. Earlier this year, a Stryker unit from Alaska deployed to New Mexico, where it provided ground surveillance and reconnaissance that led to the apprehension of "a number" of illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, Armando Carrasco said Tuesday. But, he said, the unit was preparing to deploy to Iraq and needed training in a...

Much ACLU about Nothing April 20, 2005 The flap erupting today over Sean Hannity’s visit to the Mexican border is proof that ACLU observers bird-dogging the Minutemen Project are pursuing an agenda. That agenda is to point the finger at conservative, law-abiding American patriots. On Tuesday evening, with a worldwide audience watching on the Hannity & Colmes television program, radio and television personality Sean Hannity and Chris Simcox, a co-director of the Minutemen Project from Tombstone, walked up to a fence at the U.S.-Mexico border. When they came upon a ruptured area of fence, Hannity ducked underneath the fence and...

KFYI is Reporting: CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED against Army reservist Patrick Haab who was accused of holding a group of illegals at gunpoint.

Border agents approve of 'Minutemen' Posted: April 21, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Through the years politicians, lawyers and advocacy groups have overseen the implementation of policies that grant illegal aliens more rights to sneak into the country than rights given to Border Patrol agents charged with keeping them out. Needless to say, that has led to a level of frustration, anger and resentment within BP ranks that is virtually unparalleled in terms of federal service. This month, however, a fortunate few of them have been given a temporary reprieve, and receiving much-needed assistance to do the jobs...

Crews make improvements while getting training BY BILL HESS Wednesday, April 20, 2005 12:38 PM MDT Herald/Review NACO, Ariz. - East Coast soldiers are working in the Southwest to strengthen the border fence separating this community and Naco, Sonora, Mexico. Soldiers from two engineering units, one at Fort Bragg, N.C., and the other from Fort Benning, Ga., are constructing low-water crossings, improving a road along the international boundary and erecting steel fences east and west of the Naco Port of Entry. To the west of the port are 27 members of the Assault and Barrier Platoon of Headquarters Company of...