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BRITAIN has resorted to detaining as an illegal immigrant a man regarded as one of al-Qaeda’s most dangerous terrorists. Abu Doha, whose various aliases include “The Doctor”, has been in Belmarsh highsecurity jail for almost six years facing extradition to the United States on charges of running a jihad training camp in Afghanistan and plotting to blow up Los Angeles airport. But the US has been forced to drop the case against him after an informer refused to give evidence. A British judge described the extremist network created by Abu Doha as “one of the most significant groups of terrorists...

by John HillStand With Arizona If you needed a symbol of the utterly preposterous lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Maricopa County Sheriffs Department (MCSO), this may well be it. On page 2 of the 32-page complaint, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, the Department of Justice references "insensitive" emails sent by MCSO employees. The prima fascie evidence? Read for yourself... MCSO supervisors involved in immigration enforcement have expressed anti-Latino bias, in one instance widely distributing an email that included a photograph of a Chihuahua dog dressed in swimming gear with the caption “A Rare Photo of...

“I think the massive boom in Mexican immigration is over and I don’t think it will ever return to the numbers we saw in the 1990s and 2000s,” said Douglas Massey, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University and co-director of the Mexican Migration Project, which has been gathering data on the subject for 30 years. Nearly 1.4 million Mexicans moved from the United States to Mexico between 2005 and 2010,

Pakistan deported the family of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to Saudi Arabia on Friday, their lawyer and a diplomat said, nearly a year after U.S. special forces killed the world's most wanted man in a northwestern Pakistani town. The move ended months of speculation about the fate of the three widows and 11 children, who were detained by Pakistani security forces after the May 2 raid.

President Obama’s illegal-alien uncle met yesterday with federal immigration officials, who say they’re pressing ahead with his deportation as he prepares his legal fight to stay in the country. *snip* Pursuant to this meeting, Mr. Onyango will be required to check in regularly with immigration officials pending his removal. Absent a change in his immigration status or any related court proceedings, Mr. Onyango will be required to report to ICE in the coming weeks in order to effectuate his departure from the United States.”

by John HillStand With Arizona We have chronicled Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) outrageous new directives, instantly removing between 300,000 and 1.4 million illegal aliens from the "enforcement priority" list - in effect granting them indefinite amnesty from deportation, without any authorization from Congress whatsoever. The rationale given for this lawless amnesty from ICE Director John Morton is that he would have a "sustained focus on criminal offenders". Instead we have chronicled one failure after another by ICE to detain or even keep track of criminal illegals and repeat offenders who present imminent risks to the public - such as...

Wasteful, senseless and cruel. How better to describe the ridiculous battle that Felipe Montes is waging to be reunited with his three U.S.-born children? Since his deportation, they've been ensnared by the foster care system and are at risk of being put up for adoption. Montes, who had lived in the U.S. illegally for almost 10 years, was sent back to Mexico in 2010 after having been sentenced to probation following an arrest for driving with an expired license, an expired registration and no automobile insurance. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at one of his...

Co-author of Arizona immigration law says 'self-deportation' workingBy Josh Lederman - 02/11/12 10:39 AM ET Immigration crackdowns in Arizona and Alabama are succeeding in persuading illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the country, the co-author of tough immigration laws in both of those states said Saturday. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an ardent opponent of illegal immigration who has endorsed Mitt Romney, said jobs are opening up for Americans and school budgets flourishing thanks to tough new policies. "If you want to create a job for a U.S. citizen tomorrow, deport an illegal alien today," Kobach said to boisterous applause...

TIJUANA — Less than four months after he was released from a Nevada prison and deported to Mexico, Fermín Pérez Juárez is in trouble again. He is now behind bars in Tijuana, accused along with four others in the kidnapping and torture of a man who was hoping to be smuggled into the United States. It wasn’t just the brutality of the crime, committed last month in the city’s Zona Norte, that commanded attention in Tijuana newspaper headlines and on TV broadcasts. It was the people allegedly behind the crime: Pérez and the other suspects are deportees with U.S. criminal...

For those who doubt that a strict enforcement regime will induce self-repatriation, consider what happened in the wake of the Special Registration program set up after 9/11. Under that program, foreigners from some countries were told they must register with the nearest immigration office or risk certain deportation if caught. Among Pakistanis, for instance, about 1,500 who were here illegally (on expired visas etc.) were caught and deported. Word spread. Before long, some 15,000 illegal Pakistanis hightailed out of the country on their own. They knew that formal deportation would decapitate their ability to obtain a visa in the future....

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Outspoken Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders called on the government Wednesday to apologize for the country’s “passive” response to the mass deportations of Jews by Nazi occupiers during World War II. The move is likely to re-ignite debate about Dutch attitudes to the wartime persecution of the country’s Jewish population. Of the 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands before the war, more than 100,000 were deported and murdered. About 30,000 Jews live here now, out of a total population of nearly 17 million. Wilders is best known for his strident criticism of Islam and also is...

LA Arson Suspect Identified, Possibly Motivated by Deportation BattleBy RICHARD ESPOSITO, RAY HOMER, KATIE KINDELAN and COLLEEN CURRY Good Morning America – 15 hrs ago Officials this evening identified a man arrested after a series of 52 blazes in the Los Angeles area as Harry Burkhart, 24. Burkhart was charged this afternoon with one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling, with more charges expected as the investigation proceeds, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters. Burkhart was being held without bail. "These were serious and potentially deadly crimes that needlessly endangered thousands of innocent lives," Villaraigosa said. "These crimes...

..The Texas governor has faced criticism from Republican rivals like Mitt Romney for being "soft" on illegal immigrants, because those who live in Texas can attend state universities at the same cost as other Texas residents. Perry, who made the remarks while campaigning in New Hampshire with a controversial Arizona sheriff, said that if elected he would immediately order the deportation of any illegal immigrant detained in the United States. "My policy will be to detain and deport every illegal alien who is apprehended in this country," Perry said. "And we'll do it with an expedited hearing process so that...

The Australian Government has ordered the first deportation of a failed Afghan asylum seeker from Australia, despite fears he will be killed if he returns home. This will be the first time an Afghan asylum seeker has been sent home involuntarily under a deal between the Afghan and Australian governments reached earlier this year. The 26-year-old man has only six days left in Australia. He is currently in maximum security at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney after his asylum claim was rejected. Documents obtained by Lateline show the Department of Immigration has now ordered his deportation to Kabul,...

The pictures tell the story ... President Obama's uncle, wheeling and dealing behind a liquor store counter. So there's no doubt, he's still dodging the deportation bullet ... at least for now. Onyango Obama was busted for DUI August 24th in Framingham, Massachusetts ...after almost smashing into a cop car. Immigration officials learned about the arrest, and then discovered the 67-year-old was in the U.S. illegally. In fact, Onyango was on the receiving end of a 1992 deportation order, but it was never enforced. While Onyango challenges the deportation order, the pictures show ... he's making a living at the...

OAKLAND -- Occupy Oakland protesters are planning a rally today in support of a veteran East Bay activist who faces possible deportation after being arrested during Monday's police sweep of the movement's encampment outside City Hall. Records show that 36-year-old Francisco "Pancho" Ramos Stierle of Oakland is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin because of a federal immigration hold. ... Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the jail, said his agency had no control over federal immigration holds. "We don't make that decision," he said. Federal immigration officials did not immediately respond to...

House Republicans are moving to subpoena a list of all immigrants whom the Obama administration has flagged under its secure communities program but failed to arrest for deportation, after the Homeland Security Department missed a congressionally imposed deadline to produce the information this week. Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, said he wants the data so he can see who is among the 300,000 people the administration has deemed too low a priority to detain under new deportation guidelines. He has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday for the immigration subcommittee to vote to authorize the subpoena. “Why would DHS...

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a House committee that she is “not aware” of any actions the Obama administration has taken against countries that will not accept back illegal immigrants in “deportation status,” some of whom have committed crimes. After a “six-month detention period,” the illegal immigrants are released within the United States. “DHS is supposed to order or give the country that refuses to take back its aliens — the Secretary of State ‘shall order’ — that the visas to its citizens be suspended,” Adams concluded. ”How many have you recommended under Section 243(d)?” Napolitano answered, “We have...

President Barack Obama's Homeland Security Department officials released a report that claims Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported a record number of illegal immigrants in the last fiscal year, including an "unprecedented number of convicted illegals with criminal records." However, a closer look at the figures reveals the report is bogus, according to the lawmaker in-charge of immigration oversight. In the 2011 fiscal year which ended last month, ICE officials claim they deported more than 396,000 illegal immigrants nationwide -- the largest number in the agency's history, ICE officials said in a statement released yesterday. Of these, nearly 55 percent or...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Terrified by Alabama's strict new immigration crackdown, parents living in the state illegally say they are doing something that was unthinkable just days ago -- asking friends, relatives, co-workers and acquaintances to take their children if they're arrested or deported.

by John HillStand With ArizonaFederal District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn again refused to halt Alabama's tough new immigration enforcement law, pending appeal - this time turning back an "emergency" request by the U.S. Department of Justice and left-wing non-profits who advocate for illegal aliens. She upheld provisions which authorized police to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason, among other provisions. Blackburn said...that the law's challengers, including President Barack Obama's administration and civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups, had not shown they were likely to prevail in...

The partners and spouses of gays and lesbians should be recognized under the Obama administration’s new immigration policy when deportation decisions are made, say House Democrat leaders. “The recognition of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) family ties as a positive factor is a critical step forward in identifying key family and community ties to implement common-sense immigration enforcement,” say 67 Democrats led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Jerrold Nadler of New York. This backdoor approach to coerce the federal government into recognizing gay marriage was originally alluded to by the Homeland Security Department on Aug. 18...

President Obama on Wednesday urged frustrated Americans to stop blaming him for the standstill on federal immigration reform and to direct their displeasure instead at Republicans in Congress. "The notion that I can somehow just change the laws unilaterally is just not true," Obama told moderators Wednesday during a Hispanic online roundtable-- "Open for Questions"-- hosted by Yahoo!, MSN Latino, AOL Latino and HuffPost LatinoVoices. "The fact of the matter is there are laws on the books I have to enforce. And there is a great disservice done to the cause of getting the Dream Act passed and comprehensive immigration...

Leadership: With two relatives having successfully defied deportation orders, President Obama needs to explain once again his relaxation and disregard of the immigration laws he swore to uphold and enforce. We are great believers in individual responsibility, and certainly other presidents have had relatives with less-than-stellar reputations. Jimmy Carter had his brother Billy, and Bill Clinton had his brother Roger. They were responsible for their own actions and idiosyncrasies. But presidents are responsible for upholding the nation's laws, even if they are violated by presidential relatives. On Aug. 24, President Obama's uncle Omar Onyango was arrested by Framingham, Mass., police...

CONCORD -- A father and son set to be deported to Peru won a last-minute, temporary reprieve on Tuesday after an Illinois senator intervened on their behalf. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is delaying for a month the deportation of longtime Concord resident Arturo Rengifo, Sr., and his son, Arturo Rengifo, Jr. "My mom is able to relax more," said the 24-year-old son, who would have left his mother and older brother in Concord had he been forced to take the one-way flight to Lima on Tuesday night. "She can actually breathe now. Hopefully more good things will happen, and I...

Bill would freeze Obama administration's power to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants By Jordy Yager - 06/25/11 05:05 PM ET The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is crafting a bill that would temporarily freeze the Obama administration’s power to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants. The measure is in response to a memo issued by the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week that approved a broader breadth of discretion for agency officials when considering whether to deport someone through the Secure Communities program. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who is sponsoring the legislation, blasted the memo. He...

Police arrested a man who had been previously deported three times on suspicion of drunken driving, resisting arrest and hit-and-run, according to the Escondido Police Department. The man allegedly fled and officers chased the vehicle until it crashed into two other vehicles, injuring one person, Carter said. Flores was booked into the Vista jail on various charges, including felony hit-and-run, drunken driving, driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest and felony evading with injury, according to police. Immigration authorities placed an immigration hold on Flores. The man had been formally deported three times and had voluntarily returned to Mexico 12...

he Homeland Security Department said Thursday it will halt deportation proceedings on a case-by-case basis against illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria such as attending school, having family in the military or are primarily responsible for other family members’ care. The move, announced in letters to Congress, comes after Hispanic activists and Democrats had urged President Obama to exempt broad swaths of illegal immigrants from deportation while Congress wrestles with the issue. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said her department and the Justice Department will review all ongoing cases and see who meets the new criteria on a case-by-case basis....

The Obama administration deported nearly 400,000 people last year – a record – with the number driven up by those tossed out for traffic violations and drunken driving, according to a report on Friday. The focus on ousting those with relatively minor offenses raises questions about whether the administration has lived up to its promise to focus on deporting the most dangerous offenders, the Associated Press says. During the fiscal year that ended in Sept. 30, 393,000 people were deported, and half of those were considered criminals. Of the criminal deportations, 7 percent were based on traffic violations, 23 percent...

Facing a barrage of criticism from some Democratic governors, members of Congress and local officials, the Obama administration is altering a controversial federal program in which law enforcement agencies share fingerprints of suspects held in local jails with U.S. immigration authorities. The Secure Communities program, which was intended to identify and deport convicted felons, wound up also ensnaring minor offenders, victims of domestic abuse and other crimes, as well as witnesses to crimes and people who were arrested but not convicted of offenses. In response, U.S. Homeland Security officials announced Friday that the department had issued new guidelines in an...

Federal immigration officials say they will not deport immigrants pursuing legitimate civil rights claims, a move hailed by advocates as a way to protect a vulnerable population while critics say it encourages abuses. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a memo Friday that “absent special circumstances,” it is against the agency’s policy to deport immigrants in the midst of a legitimate effort to protect their civil rights. ICE officials said the memos were designed to provide guidance on exercising appropriate discretion.

The suspect accused of driving his vehicle through a police barricade and killing a Houston police officer may be an illegal immigrant, records show. Johoan Rodriguez, 26, charged with the intoxicated manslaughter of Houston officer Kevin Will, has an immigration detainer placed in his arrest records after investigators found "reason to believe" he was not a citizen. It’s not clear exactly what evidence prompted the detainer. Typically, a detainer is placed when a individual’s fingerprints surface in federal immigration databases. However, fingerprints of lawful immigrants are also kept in the same database. "No further info can be released at this...

VAN NUYS - Immigration activists, officeholders and Christian leaders rallied at a San Fernando Valley church on Saturday, renewing angry calls for President Barack Obama to order a halt of deportations they say shatter the families of legal U.S. residents. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, and immigration-reform proponent Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., were among the speakers at La Iglesia en la Camino (The Church on the Way) in what was billed as a bipartisan town-hall meeting. "When communities are terrorized by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids, when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children...

The California State Assembly passed a bill that would allow counties to refuse to participate in the Homeland Security Department's controversial Secure Communities program. The program cross checks fingeprints from people who are arrested for crimes with Immigration and Customs records. It's designed to deport dangerous violent offenders who are also illegal residents. Some local sheriffs say the program is getting rid of violent criminals and is making the streets safer. But the State Assembly didn't agree in approving the bill which says counties aren't required to participate in the Secure Communities program unless they specifically chooses to.

Not everyone has the right to be in AmericaIf the U.S. Supreme Court says California has to create room in its prisons by releasing convicts, the least the federal government can do is send those who are illegal aliens back over the border. The message is simple: If you come to our country and don’t follow the rules, you’re outta here. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of “Brown v. Plata” that overcrowding in California prisons constituted a violation of the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The court affirmed the judgment of a three-judge...

On May 9, 2011, the Illegal Immigration Prevention Apprehension Co-op Team (IIMPACT) conducted a human smuggling investigation. During surveillance, detectives stopped a suspected smuggling load vehicle on State Route 202 at 40th Street in Phoenix. The vehicle was loaded with nine undocumented immigrants and smuggler or “coyote” who was the driver.It was discovered during further investigation that one of the persons being smuggled was a criminal alien, with a prior arrest in California by the Redwood City Sheriff’s Office in 2005 for attempted murder of a police officer. The charges in California were dismissed and there was no record of...

The Obama administration is making it possible for more foreign students studying in the U.S. on visas to stay and get practical training in their career fields. The administration is expanding the list of science, technology, engineering and math degrees that allow foreign students who earn them to stay in the U.S. up to 17 months after graduating. Those months can be spent working. The time also could mean the student may not have to leave before getting an H-1B visa, a visa reserved for high-skilled workers that can last for up to six years.

Indianapolis— Five students arrested at an immigration protest at the Indiana Statehouse Monday will not face deportation. Federal authorities lifted detention orders against the illegal immigrants Tuesday evening. The detention was lifted shortly after the five declared a hunger strike Tuesday. The students say the hunger strike will last until Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) vetoes the immigration bill he has previously promised to sign. The students were part of a protest that went all the way to the front door of the governor's office. Senate Bill 590 would make illegal immigrants pay much higher tuitions. The cost would be...

WASHINGTON – Nayely Arreola was a high school junior when a U.S. senator first protected her from deportation. The year: 2003. Nayely is now 25, newly married and a graduate of Fresno Pacific University. She and her family still remain protected, thanks to special bills that need not pass to exert influence. "Perhaps the greatest hardship to this family, if forced to return to Mexico, will be (Nayely's) lost opportunity to realize her dreams and further contribute to her community and this country," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein declared. As she has regularly since 2003, Feinstein in March re-introduced a so-called...

Jessica Colotl, in many ways, is exactly the kind of person we wish we had more of in this country. She's bright, ambitious, a good student and interested in civic affairs. "I am no different than any other American," she told the Atlanta newspaper this week. Maybe not, except for one little thing: Ms. Colotl has spent most of her life in this country illegally, and arrogantly thinks the laws that apply to everyone else - and especially those that apply to foreign nationals who want to become citizens of this country - shouldn't apply to her. Ms. Colotl, you'll...

An immigration judge in Newark on Friday suspended the deportation of a Venezuelan man who is married to an American man, responding to an unusual signal this week from the Obama administration that it is exploring legal avenues for recognizing same-sex marriages in immigration cases. The Venezuelan, Henry Velandia, had been awaiting the hearing with dread, since immigration authorities had said it was the last step before his deportation. Mr. Velandia, a dancer, was legally married last year in Connecticut to Josh Vandiver, a graduate student at Princeton. Mr. Velandia was denied legal residency as Mr. Vandiver’s spouse because under...

Having met with business leaders and entertainment stars on stalled immigration reform... Obama... heard from Hispanic lawmakers who have been pressuring him to help certain immigrants stay in the U.S. while they wait for congressional action.The meeting with members of the all-Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus... ... DREAM Act ... but it is expected to be introduced again this session.

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (AFP) – Recent tornadoes ravaged immigrant and other low-income communities in the US state of Alabama, but undocumented aliens say they are reluctant to openly seek help out of fear of arrest and deportation. Tornadoes left a wide swath of destruction through this university city, leaving at least 39 dead and several missing, and poorer neighborhoods such as Alberta and Holt, where many immigrants and African-Americans saw their homes left in splinters, were especially hard hit. Illegal immigrants were keeping a low profile Sunday, but about 30 of them gathered at Holy Spirit Catholic Church for a Spanish-language...

DRAPER, Utah— Federal officers arrested 53 year old Felix Callejas, his wife and two of their children at their home April 19. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says a judge ordered Luca Callejas to return to El Salvador in 2008. Callejas' other family members got the same deportation order in 2009. The family appealed and their case was dismissed earlier this month. Callejas is the president of a Spanish speaking LDS Church branch in Draper. Concerned church members called local activist Tony Yapias saying they're now afraid to go to church. “The whole membership was devastated over what happened,” says Latino...

Hartford, Conn. (AP) - A Mexican college student who won allies in Connecticut's governor and two U.S. senators as he fought a deportation order will be allowed to stay in the country for now, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday. -snip- "With the three of them, I guess they had enough power and enough momentum to be an advocate for me," Cardoso said. "I feel really privileged and honored that they assisted me." Blumenthal said the Department of Homeland Security called his office to say Cardoso had been granted a stay of removal. -snip- Cardoso, 23, has lived in the United...

HARTFORD —— Until Tuesday afternoon, the future was looking grim for Mariano Cardoso Jr. Brought to this country illegally by his parents when he was a baby, the 23-year-old Capital Community College student was facing imminent deportation to Mexico, a country he did not know. But while at school Tuesday, Cardoso got a call from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, telling him that federal immigration officials had granted a rare stay of deportation and that in all probability he will be able to remain in the U.S. indefinitely.

“Three illegal aliens will not face charges in connection with the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry,” KOLD CBS News 13 reports, citing a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix: "Based upon an extensive investigation conducted to date, there is no evidence tying these three individuals to the shooting of Border Patrol (BP) Agent Brian Terry. The goal of the ongoing FBI-lead Joint Investigation into that shooting is to achieve justice for BP Agent Terry, and bring criminal charges against those responsible for this murder. We continue to devote significant resources and manpower to this investigation....

was deported 10 years ago... but never left the country Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro, an illegal immigrant, was charged in the pair of attacks blocks apart on Thursday night that left three people dead and three others injured, Police Chief Doug Keen said. Brenda Ashcraft, 56, and her son William Ashcraft, 37, were shot and killed in the first attack shortly after 7pm on Thursday. A 34-year-old woman was injured and remains hospitalised, and a 15-year-old girl was treated and released. In the second attack, 48-year-old Julio Cesar Ulloa was shot and killed, and a 77-year-old woman suffered head wounds...

MANASSAS, Va. — Authorities say a 37-year-old man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder following a series of shootings in a Virginia suburb of Washington. Manassas Police Chief Doug Keen says Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who was ordered deported a decade ago but never left...Two people were fatally shot and two others were hurt about 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Georgetown South neighborhood of Manassas, city police spokesman Sgt. Tim Neumann said. About 20 minutes later, police were called to another home about a quarter-mile away where one person had...

Reporting from Escondido — It was just an inconvenient traffic stop on the way through town for Javier Barrera Saldivar. Police had spotted the broken tail light on his car, and he figured he'd get a fix-it ticket and be on his way. But federal immigration officers soon rolled up, wielding handcuffs and Barrera's mug shot on a cellphone. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been stationed at the Police Department of this San Diego County city since May, responding to everything from traffic stops to gang sweeps in an aggressive effort to clear the community of illegal immigrants...