Free Republic

... Although Trump glibly describes "Operation Wetback" as moving undocumented immigrants "waaay south," this program was at best inhumane and at worst horrific. Back then, the government rounded up suspected undocumented immigrants and sent them deep into the Mexican interior, where they were abandoned with next to nothing. The transports across the border were reportedly "indescribable scenes of human misery and tragedy." In one instance, 88 deportees died from heat stroke in the desert. Other deportees were sent to the Mexican Gulf Coast by ship, in vessels described by historians as an "eighteenth century slave ship" or "penal hell ship."...

This year's May Day rally is expected to draw fewer immigrant rights activists to downtown Los Angeles than in past years, but police said they would be prepared for any problems that might occur. Organizers said the demonstration could draw more than 50,000 people, but permits sought for the march estimate a crowd of about 10,000. Whatever the turnout, police said, they would be ready with a significant deployment of officers. As in the past, the annual immigrant and labor rights march is seen as a way to rally public support for federal legislation that would legalize the nation's 11...

Dee Dee Garcia, president of Somos Republicans, told The Florida Independent her group does not support immigration-enforcement-only measures in Florida. The Florida Senate Judiciary committee will discuss the GOP’s immigration bill S.B. 2040 today. A Somos press release issued Friday states: SOMOS REPUBLICANS, the largest conservative Hispanic grassroots organization is a leader in advocating pro growth, pro business and pro immigrant ideas. We are not in support of SB 2040, an E-Verificiation Bill which is supported by Florida State Senator Anitere Flores. # We believe that small businesses are the economic engine of the United States, therefore, state lawmakers should...

(CNSNews.com) - Do fewer apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border really reflect a lower number of illegal crossings? Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says yes, but an Arizona sheriff says no. Republican Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, which lies on the Arizona-Mexico border, told Fox News on April 1 that border apprehension numbers fail to tell the real story of what is happening on the southwest border. “We do not know who’s crossing that border,” Dever said, adding that “anyone who wants to, can. That’s the message our nation needs to hear -- that anyone who wants to (cross...

On Friday [March 4, 2011], Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio raided four Phoenix-area Pei Wei restaurants, in search of more 100 illegal workers, many of whom were allegedly using stolen Social Security numbers. The raid turned up dozens of illegal aliens, and as a result, Pei Wei bought a full page ad in the local paper—seeking new, legal hires. On Monday [March 7,2011], people were lined to apply for those jobs that people such as Sen. John McCain continuously tell us “Americans won’t do.” Among the job applicants was Jacquelyn Paul, who has a master’s degree and has owned her...

That's the consensus among America's law enforcement, but it isn't an easy policy for Jim Batton to accept. His son's girlfriend, Amanda Gschwendner, is still recovering in a wheelchair after a violent wreck Dec. 25 on Hitchcock Parkway in Aiken. The driver of the vehicle responsible was an illegal immigrant, who was charged but not arrested before Aiken Public Safety officers sent him to Medical College of Georgia Hospital for treatment. The driver was released from the hospital and has since absconded, leaving Batton and Gschwendner outraged and pointing fingers at Aiken Public Safety. "There's just something really off about...

Majority of Americans believe US government encourages illegal immigration According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, 57% of likely voters think that government policies spur illegal immigration. 21% believe the federal government does not encourage illegal immigration, and 22% are not certain either way. The poll was conducted February 2-3 and included 1,000 likely voters and has a +/- 3 % margin of error... ...68% of respondents prioritize securing the border over legalization of the undocumented workers, and only 25% have the opposite view... ...64% think U.S. military should be used along the border to stop illegal immigration...

Here’s a simple question: are all illegal immigrants — by definition — criminals? Not long ago, I would have answered: “Yes, of course.” In fact, in a column from 2005, I said as much and urged fellow Latinos not to gloss over the fact that these people broke the rules in entering the United States without authorization. I noted that there are those who don’t like the term “illegal immigrant” because they don’t think that people trying to feed their families should be labeled criminals. “What else would we call them?” I wrote. “They broke the law. We can be...

A Caryville tree-trimming company is confessing it may have employed illegal immigrants, albeit unwittingly, in a bid to defeat a labor lawsuit by Hispanic workers. Baird Tree Company Inc., which contracts with KUB to provide tree-trimming services, is facing a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by 21 Hispanic laborers who allege the firm shorted them overtime pay. In response to the lawsuit, Baird is now contending the firm has since learned some of the suing workers may be illegal immigrants and, if so, should be barred from suing. 'The defendants believe that some of the plaintiffs are illegal residents...

AUSTIN, TX (KTRK) -- President Obama landed in Austin this morning and was greeted by Texas Governor Rick Perry among others. The president is in Texas to deliver a speech on campus at the University of Texas and then attend a Democratic fundraiser. In video from the landing, you could see Governor Perry hand something to President Obama. Eyewitness News has obtained a copy of the letter that was exchanged. The 4-page document detailed the need for more National Guard troops on the border.

The Obama administration, anticipating that Congress might not pass comprehensive immigration reform this year, is considering ways it could act without congressional approval to achieve many of the objectives of the initiative, including giving permanent resident status, or green cards, to large numbers of people in the country illegally. The ideas were outlined in an unusually frank draft memo prepared for Alejandro N. Mayorkas, director of the federal agency that handles immigration benefits, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). The memo lists ways the government could grant permanent resident status to tens of thousands of people and delay the deportation...

In an insane case of political correctness, a federal government agency has classified an illegal immigrant arrested for cultivating marijuana in a national forest as a “displaced traveler from Michoacán Mexico.” The illegal alien (Gauldry Almonte-Hernandez) was recently busted during a U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Operation raid of illegally grown marijuana plants in northern California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest. So far this month, the feds have eradicated more than 92,000 marijuana plants throughout the 2.1 million acre national forest that encompasses five wilderness areas and hundreds of mountain lakes. In the first few days of July alone, about 50,000 plants...

In one of his final moves to fundamentally change how America operates, the Obama Administration appears to be circumventing regular congressional procedures on immigration reform by considering deferred action or parole on a massive scale for the more than ten million illegal aliens in the U.S. Typically these actions are carried out on a case by case basis, but Obama is anything but typical.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said Thursday that President Obama assured her that he would send White House staff members to her state to talk with officials about efforts to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. The governor said her meeting with Obama in the Oval Office was cordial, despite their disagreement over the widely criticized state law she signed in April, which gave police greater powers to enforce federal immigration laws. The White House said Obama would like Brewer to work with him to help pass comprehensive changes to the immigration system that would provide a path to citizenship for those...

Share Your Opinion Poll Do you believe Texas should have an illegal immigration law similar to the Arizona law? Yes No

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration, the archbishop of New York and the bishops of New Mexico have joined a growing chorus of opposition to Arizona's new immigration bill. Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City said he would like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to support an expected legal challenge to the law, noting that the bishops' first concern is for the well-being of the people who will be affected if the law takes effect. Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., earlier in the week called for the USCCB to...

Over the last few months most conservatives have quite naturally been distracted by Barack Obama's frightening incompetence, his elephantine spending, and his zealous attempts to swallow as much of the private sector as the government beast can stuff down its gaping maw. But while the cat's away, the mice will play. The little feet you may have been hearing pitter-patter back into the public square? They belong to advocates of amnesty for illegal aliens. Oh, they don't necessarily call it that. They call it comprehensive immigration reform, earned legalization, a path to citizenship -- but, it all amounts to the...

Many people would have us believe that it would not actually be possible to round up and deport all illegal aliens in the U.S. This is most definitely not the case. It is merely a lack of resolve to do so. How can I say this? Easy. It’s been done successfully multiple times in the past. In fact, three of our most well-known presidents initiated successful illegal alien deportation programs. First, President Herbert Hoover, during the great depression, ordered the deportation of all illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed work. My question...

WASHINGTON — After several years of fighting the U.S.-Mexico border fence, a coalition of Texas elected officials is working with the Obama administration on ways to improve border ports and facilitate trade while fighting drug smuggling. The Texas Border Coalition's involvement with policymaking comes after a bitter tangle with the federal government over construction of the fence that Congress and the White House approved, but border business leaders and human rights groups opposed. “We've got to work together,” said Chad Foster, Eagle Pass mayor and the coalition's chairman. “But that is where the wheels came off the cart — when...

We are beginning to see way too many echoes of the 1930s, as national socialist and Marxian socialist thugs try to drive competing political views off the streets. The worst offenders so far have been the Service Employees' International Union, which has repeatedly sent its members out into the streets to beat up anyone who isn't toeing the Obama line on issues like socialized medicine. (Video at link)