Free Republic

The "straw-dog" that comes out of the liberal circles is asking people if they are in the US legally during the census is a horrible act of racism. In actuality it is simply an attempt to guarantee all US Citizens the right to equal representation in Congress and equal access to Congressional funds and programs. As set up by the constitution, the purpose of the US Census is to determine the amount of congressional representatives each state receives Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective...

As immigrants’ rights groups are pressing President Barack Obama to step up efforts at comprehensive reform this year, one prominent member of Obama’s cabinet is acknowledging that the economic downturn has made legalization of illegal immigrants tougher to sell to the American public. “When unemployment is up, anything that looks like you’re taking jobs away from …people who are lawfully here—citizens of the United States—is going to meet a lot of resistance,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said during an exchange with reporters Tuesday morning. The homeland security chief and former Arizona governor said the economic slump may also have...

San Francisco has long prided itself on being a “sanctuary city” that refuses to work with federal authorities to identify and deport illegal immigrants. But now city officials are arguing over how far that policy should go when some of those illegal immigrants are charged with murder and other serious crimes. New Rasmussen Reports national telephone polling finds that most Americans oppose sanctuary cities and think their policies lead to an increase in crime. A solid plurality say such cities, including New York, Washington, D.C. and many others, should lose government funding because of their sanctuary policies. Given consistent findings...

BUENOS AIRES N.W.R., Arizona | Michael M. Hawkes, manager of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, reaches across his desk and pulls out a homemade blue-and-red bumper sticker that reads, "Littering is always a crime." It turns out that here on the U.S.-Mexico border, even that is a controversial statement — because it's aimed at the humanitarian groups that drop gallon jugs of water on public lands to help illegal immigrants crossing the rugged borderlands. Mr. Hawkes says dealing with those groups now takes up most of his time, and it only builds on top of the pile of other...

Patriotic music belted from speakers Monday afternoon ... The Western Slope Conservative Alliance and other local conservative groups staged demonstrations at all four corners on city sidewalks to again voice opposition to nationalized health care reform. Alliance members have gathered at least six times since summer to stage rallies, the most recent protests near Grand Junction City Hall and the Federal Building. the group gathers at the intersection because it is near the Alpine Bank building offices of Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., has an office around the corner at the Federal...

ST. STEPHEN - The RCMP bomb squad stood by in St. Stephen Sunday night as American authorities questioned five people who attempted to enter the United States. The Canada Border Services Agency closed the Ferry Point Bridge from St. Stephen to Calais, Maine, shortly after 6 p.m. and asked the RCMP to divert traffic. Police at the Calais end of the bridge did the same. Not only did the police not allow traffic across the bridge but, at the St. Stephen end, they did not allow motorists to drive up Milltown Boulevard past the end of it. Traffic coming one...

DALLAS — For just $39.99, you can now dress up as an "illegal alien" for Halloween. Target is selling the costume made up of an orange jumpsuit with the words "illegal alien" written across the chest. The costume even comes with a mask of a space invader with big eyes, and a green card. It's not a funny matter to some leaders with LULAC, one of the largest Latino civil rights organizations in the country. Immediate National LULAC President Hector Flores says the costume is racist in nature. Flores adds, "The costume, while clearly depicting a supposed visitor from space,...

The words "you lie!" earned Joe Wilson a resolution of disapproval on the House floor last month. But the outburst has certainly had its upside, netting him $2.7 million in third quarter political donations -- with most of the money raised after his Sept. 9 outburst, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed Thursday evening. Wilson's $2.7 million quarter is a fundraising anomaly -- better than many Senate candidates and even some presidential candidates could hope for. Democrats hope a simultaneous fundraising boost for Wilson’s challenger, Rob Miller, will position him to make a viable run next November. But Wilson’s...

Colorado Democrats plan to take another run at a bill that would provide reduced tuition to the children of illegal immigrants by creating a new class of tuition that would not require state subsidies. Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, said the measure, billed as the "Workforce Development and Unsubsidized Tuition Act," is a compromise that would avoid the pitfalls of the four or five previous failed attempts at passing legislation by creating a new, third tuition rate. Miklosi said the act would create educational opportunities for 200 to 500 children of illegal immigrants the first year and thousands more over the...

Several groups of illegal immigrants from China have been arrested in southern Arizona in recent days, part of an increasing trend that U.S. Border Patrol agents said Monday was being fed by smugglers recruiting tourists to Central and South America. The arrests included two Chinese found among a large group of migrants who entered the county from Mexico on Friday. Three more Chinese were found Saturday, a group that included four Chinese was captured Sunday and four more were arrested early Monday

Last Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which is the non-partisan "research arm" of the United States Congress, issued a report that concludes that illegal aliens will be able to receive benefits under the House health care bill (H.R. 3200) through two major loopholes. (See CRS Report and FAIR Press Release, August 26, 2009). According to its own website, CRS is a legislative branch agency that provides Congress with "policy and legal analysis" that is authoritative, objective and accurate. (CRS website). The latest CRS report validates what FAIR has been saying for the past month and a half — that...

Fellow Conservatives,It turns out that Joe Wilson was right.  Illegal aliens are part of the Obamacare plan.After months of denying there would be a move to add illegal aliens to any government subsidized health care, the mask came off this week as Democrats moved to specifically include illegal aliens in the pending health care bills.A large group of House Democrats are working to amend the House healthcare bill to specifically include subsidized coverage for illegal aliens. And the radical group LaRaza is calling on its members to contact Senators and "flood their voicemail" telling them to do the same - and drop any mandatory...

After World War II, the U.S. government invested an enormous amount of money in medicine; medical research, medical procedures and medical technologies. This investment made contemporary scientific medicine into American medicine, characterized by a continuing flow of new treatment possibilities. These advances raised all kinds of ethical questions. Some were personal and individual, others were social and political. Both type questions are addressed by a new academic discipline called bioethics. The first attempt to develop a scientific medicine took place in Greece in the 5th century B.C. It was called Hippocratic medicine. Closely linked with this first scientific medicine was...

Senate Finance Committee Democrats rejected a proposed a requirement that immigrants prove their identity with photo identification when signing up for federal healthcare programs. Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that current law and the healthcare bill under consideration are too lax and leave the door open to illegal immigrants defrauding the government using false or stolen identities to obtain benefits. Grassley's amendment was beaten back 10-13 on a party-line vote. The bill, authored by committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would require applicants to verify their names, places of birth and Social Security numbers. In addition, legal immigrants...

Barack Obama has taken pains to assure Americans that illegal immigrants won’t be able to buy health insurance on his new exchange. They’ll still get free emergency care but they will be prohibited from paying the world’s highest prices for health care. What else are illegal immigrants going to be denied now? Will they be barred from the Apple Store and prevented from spending $3000 on a laptop? Prevented from buying Leica cameras? No haute couture, only prêt-à-porter? Meanwhile, we taxpayers in Massachusetts are stuck with the bill for housing Obama’s Aunt Zeituni. The Wikipedia entry on this illegal immigrant...

Would Obama Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants Mean Free Healthcare?

Democrats are still not satisfied with my former colleague Joe Wilson’s apology after he shouted “You lie!” when Obama claimed in his address to Congress that “There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” Last night, they disciplined him with a formal resolution of disapproval for his violation of what Nancy Pelosi’s spokesman calls the “House rules of decorum.” Whether or not he breached House decorum, Joe’s actions were both true and effective. Obama admitted as much...

“Mr. Obama didn’t lie. The bills before Congress declare illegal immigrants to be inelligibile for subsidized benefits. It is impossible to imagine any final bill doing otherwise.. Mr. Wilson was a boor, but some Republicans still insist that he was right because the bill doesn’t ensure that the undcocumented have no insurance. Time for a reality check.” So editorialized the New York Times on Friday, September 11th. As the furor continues over the cry of “You lie!” by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) during President Obama’s address on health care on Wednesday (September 9), the national media omits two important details:...

Besides breaking longstanding Congressional decorum, Congressman Joe Wilson is to be applauded for having the testicular fortitude to say what were we all thinking throughout the entirity of the president's speech last night. The video below is not presented so much to show you the spectacle, but because I think the "But how did you know!?" look on Pelosi's face is friggin' hillarious.In any case, Congressman Wilson has apologized for his remarks and has been roundly condemned by both Democrats and Republicans. But, not I. For while the networks and her Speakership will remain determined to focus on the act...

Well, that's assuming they walk in and announce they are in this country illegally and want to participate in the program......., but if they have a fake ID there is NOTHING in the bill(s) that would allow anyone to determine the validity of the identification someone offers as proof of citizenship. Once again, Mr. Obama, you are being misleading to the point of again being a liar.

It may have been a breach of protocol, and it may have been inappropriate but Rep. Joe Wilson got his point across. When Obama claimed his health care proposal would not cover illegals, Rep. Joe Wilson twice shouted “you lie”. He is right. Not only is the President lying about not paying for illegal aliens health care, he has been caught lying before (SEE VIDEO -Right Column). Senator John McSHAME was quick to try to appease the President and said this on CNN, “There is no place for it in that setting, or any other, and he should apologize for...

...FAIR has a point that illegal immigrants would likely be able to buy insurance on the national health insurance exchange. We don't see anything in the bills that would hinder that. A Congressional Research Service report issued Aug. 25, 2009, confirmed our observation. The House bill "does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens participating in the Exchange—whether the noncitizens are legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently," the report said. But it's worth pointing out that illegal immigrants participating in the exchange would be paying for their insurance like everyone else. That's similar to the...

While much of the public debate surrounding the Democrats’ healthcare plan has focused on the massive costs to be paid by American taxpayers, another flaw has stayed under the radar — until last week. That’s when the National Council of La Raza and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus pushed to include illegal immigrants in the president’s healthcare effort. Despite statements to the contrary, the Obama administration could force the American people to pay for the healthcare of millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. The Democrats’ bill in the House, H.R. 3200, contains gaping loopholes that will allow illegal immigrants to...

For federal contractors, it is time to start checking whether employees are able to work legally in the United States.Beginning Tuesday, the U.S. government was requiring federal contractors to use the E-Verify system to check the immigration and citizenship status of the people they hire and assign to new federal contracts."Don't panic about this. You do have time, but the time will pass quickly, so vigilance is important," Bonnie Gibson, a partner with New York-based Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy law firm, told hundreds of contractors who dialed in to a conference call last week for an explanation of...

Illegal immigrant held in death of Tulsa cyclist By NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer Published: 9/2/2009  2:24 AM Last Modified: 9/2/2009  5:05 AM State troopers arrested an illegal immigrant Tuesday in the hit-and-run death of a longtime bicyclist and clinical psychologist, authorities said. Roberto Salvador Alvelais-Torres, 28, is accused of striking Beverly Jean Duffield, 74, of Tulsa with a sport utility vehicle and then driving away, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said. Duffield was killed Tuesday morning while riding her bicycle near U.S. 75 and the 1700 block of Southwest Boulevard — an area where she was known to ride frequently....

... In 2008 there were approximately 37.3 million foreign-born persons in the United States. The foreign-born population was comprised of approximately 15.1 million naturalized U.S. citizens and 22.1 million noncitizens. H.R. 3200 includes an individual mandate to have health insurance with tax penalties for non-compliance. Individuals who do not maintain acceptable insurance coverage for themselves and their children would be required to pay an additional tax. Some individuals, including nonresident aliens, would be exempt from the individual mandate... Under H.R. 3200 a "Health Insurance Exchange" would begin operation in 2013 and would offer plans alongside a public option. H.R. 3200...

Since he obviously can't be bothered reading the bills he insists we need to support, Obama might be forgiven for characterizing as a myth something which is not one. Mark Tapscott highlights a report establishing that ObamaCare will cover illegal immigrants. Among the many claims being made durng the August recess by Democrats from President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, to the lowliest back-bencher is that Obamacare absolutely, positively, cannot possibly ever in a million, zillion years provide coverage to illegal immigrants. Just this past weekend during his regular Saturday address -...

Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) the "research arm" for the United States Congress issued a report validating an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) that illegal aliens would be able to receive benefits under the House health care reform bill, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200). The report, Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens - whether legally or illegally present, or in the U.S. temporarily or permanently... CRS also confirms... that the House bill does not include a mechanism to prevent illegal aliens from receiving "affordability...

In a veiled attempt to change the country's talking points, the White House decided to announce that a special prosecutor would be named to investigate a dozen CIA interrogations during the Bush administration. Political pundits say this is just another ploy to change the topic from health care... Many questions remain direct and focused on health care issues. A biggie is, "Will the health care reform bill include coverage for those in this country illegally? The president continues to say absolutely not. However, there have been many attempts to add safety measures to ensure illegal aliens do not receive care...

Students would pay out-of-state tuition and wouldn't get government grants or loans Community colleges in North Carolina would be required to admit students who are not legal residents of the United States if the state approves a proposed policy. The state Board of Community Colleges will consider a proposal that would admit students who aren’t in the country legally and require them to pay the out-of-state tuition rate.

NORTH ROSE – A Wolcott fruit grower is accusing the U.S. Border Patrol of racially profiling four of his workers who were stopped on Route 414 Aug. 17 as they were returning to his farm from a trip to purchase clothing. The men were all detained and taken for processing; Border Patrol Officer E. Rodriguez, who was in charge of the scene, told fruit grower Brian Doyle the men volunteered they were in the U.S. illegally. Doyle said Rodriguez then accused him of being a “federal criminal” because he employed the men. He said Rodriguez continually referred to the men...

When Barack Obama arrives on Martha's Vineyard for his first family holiday as president, he will enjoy the sparkling sea, salty air and fresh fish and clams. And like others he will probably be unaware of the thousands of illegal immigrants the island relies on during its summer season. But in the recession, a small army of dishwashers, gardeners and labourers, mostly from Brazil, has created a simmering tension with some locals and amid the excitement over the impending trip of the Obamas, some islanders hope their visit will bring attention to problems with immigration. In an editorial on growing...

Nigerians all over the world have reacted to alleged plans by the Libya plans to execute 220 Nigerians for immigration violations. It said that out of this number, 30 were allegedly executed in the early hours of Thursday in the prison yard in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. for entering the country without valid documents. most Nigerian illegal immigrants were arrested in the desert while trying to cross to Europe... Libyan authorities have been killing illegalaliens in batches since last week, stressing that the remaining prisoners would be executed tomorrow...

Authorities announced charges Thursday against a Mexican gang that took Tijuana-style violence to the upscale suburbs of San Diego County, kidnapping, torturing and killing well-to-do residents, even after some families paid large ransoms. The gang, a rogue cell of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix drug cartel, moved across the border in 2002 and posed as U.S. law enforcement, donning FBI and police uniforms and caps while snatching victims outside homes and public places, said San Diego County prosecutors. Nine victims were killed from 2004 to 2007, and the bodies of two of them were dissolved in chemicals at a rented house...

Here is a video report about an Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer who found nearly 100 Illegal Immigrants packed in a Refrigerated Truck during a routine traffic stop. The illegals were headed back to Mexico and Guatemala, using a human smuggling network that apparently moves illegals back and forth across the border all the time. The driver was to have been paid $300 per illegal transported. The truck was refrigerated at 34 degrees, but the illegals had not been in the truck for long. No one was seriously injured. . . . . . (Watch Video)

The ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on Immigration says Democrats have refused to pass an amendment that would prevent illegal aliens from being covered in the Obama healthcare plan. Democrats recently defeated a Republican-backed amendment offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) that would have prevented illegal immigrants from receiving government-subsidized healthcare under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Obama. Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the House Immigration Subcommittee, finds it outrageous that Democrats want to force hardworking Americans to foot the healthcare bill for those who are in the country illegally. "The Democrats...

Earlier tonight, Governor Palin tweeted the following: Rep.Lynn's good HB3 Visa/Drivers Lic law:"If u dont have legal right to walk down AKn street, why should u have right to drive same street?" Governor Palin is apparently quoting State Representative Bob Lynn's newsletter, which is only available in hardcopy, not online. (We're trying to get hold of a copy now.) ...

On Friday, Democrats moved one step closer to giving free health insurance to the nation’s estimated 12 million illegal aliens when they successfully defeated a Republican-backed amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving government-subsidized health care under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Barack Obama. The House Ways and Means Committee nixed the Heller amendment by a 26-to-15 vote along straight party lines, and followed this action by passing the 1,018-page bill early Friday morning by a 23-to-18 margin, with three Democrats voting against the plan. The Democratic plan...

Illegal Immigration: As California issues IOUs to its citizens, another ballot proposition may be brewing to cut off benefits that are draining the state budget. From education to welfare to crime, the cupboard is bare.California is a leader in both government debt and the sanctuary city movement. But as its citizens seek shelter from the economic storm, the question has arisen anew whether its non-citizens and the better life they want takes precedence over its citizens and the better life they are entitled to. In this mother of all recessions, it's getting harder to argue that illegal aliens are here...

WASHINGTON, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In May of this year, a Supreme Court decision severely impeded the use of identity theft charges as an immigration enforcement tool. In June, several people were arrested after a fraud scheme was uncovered at a Florida driver's license bureau. In July, a new Utah law targeting illegal aliens and document fraud will take effect. As these examples show, illegal immigration is inherently tied to document fraud and identity theft. As states continue to search for answers, it is apparent that the Federal government has not yet found a working legislative solution to deter these...

Obama stayed away from hot-button words in remarks Thursday on immigration reform, but hinted that his immigration push will include some kind of “amnesty” or “legal path” for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Obama also said Thursday he is making U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano a key point person on the immigration reform push

  Third Officer Shot By Illegal Alien In Sancutary City Last Updated: Mon, 06/29/2009 - 3:52pmA third law enforcement officer in one of the nation’s biggest sanctuary cities has been shot by an illegal immigrant who was protected by a don’t-ask-don’t-tell immigration policy during previous police encounters.The Houston Police Department’s longtime rule prohibiting officers from questioning suspects about immigration status has cost the department dearly in the last few years. Two officers have been murdered and one shot in the face by illegal immigrants with previous records. The latest shooting occurred just last week when an illegal alien from Mexico killed...

D.A.'s office let illegal immigrants go Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, June 23, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris' office on Monday defended allowing about a half dozen first-time drug offenders to clear their records by going through a job-training program, even after prosecutors learned they were deportable as undocumented immigrants. But Harris' aides said they have since made changes in the program that would prevent a recurrence of instances in which illegal immigrants got their criminal records cleared by going through the Back on Track jobs program, which trains offenders for jobs that...

SANTA ROSA — A former Santa Rosa DMV clerk has lost an appeal of her conspiracy conviction for helping undocumented immigrants obtain state drivers licenses or ID cards for hefty fees. A jury convicted Aida Pulido, 49, and an accomplice in May 2008 of one count of conspiracy and four counts of obtaining false DMV documents. Pulido was sentenced to 16 month in prison. Witnesses testified that her accomplice, Teofilo Arechiga Palomera, 62, of Pittsburg, would find Latinos who had no proof of legal residency — many of whom lived outside Sonoma County — and promise them a valid state...

Eight illegal immigrants 'stacked like wood' in the back of a sports-utility vehicle were killed when the driver lost control on a remote southeastern Arizona highway. At least 27 men and women were in the vehicle traveling about four miles east of Sonoita when the vehicle rolled shortly before midnight on Saturday, according to Officer Joy Craig of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

A prosecutor looking for illegal immigrants seized thousands of confidential tax records from an income tax preparer popular with Hispanics in this northern Colorado city. The October seizures led to identity-theft and criminal-impersonation charges against more than 70 people, and prosecutors allege that as many as 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants were working using false or stolen Social Security numbers. But the American Civil Liberties Union said the documents of as many as 4,900 people were seized, many of them legal residents, and that the probe was the "equivalent of a house-by-house search of innocent homeowners in order to find a...

Battle Continues Over Greeley DA And Tax Preparer. Immigrant advocates say they've seen nothing like it before or since: A prosecutor looking for illegal immigrants seized thousands of confidential tax records from an income tax preparer popular with Hispanics in this northern Colorado city. The October seizures led to identity theft and criminal impersonation charges against more than 70 people, and prosecutors allege that as many as 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants were working using false or stolen Social Security numbers. The investigation started after a Texas man alerted Weld County authorities that his identity was being used. The suspect in...

PHOENIX (Reuters)Reporting by Tim Gaynor, Editing by Paul SimaoA U.S. government program empowering local police officers to enforce immigration laws undermines their efforts to maintain public safety, according to a report released on Wednesday.Around 11.9 million mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants live and work in the United States, and Americans are sharply divided over what to do with them.The report by the nonpartisan Police Foundation criticized aspects of the 287 (g) program run by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which deputizes officers from local police agencies to enforce immigration laws.The study, drawing on input from focus groups and police...

Chuck Schumer said that the number of people captured between Oct. 1, 2008 and May 15 this year was down 27 percent from the same period the previous year. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer cited reports from the Customs and Border Protection officials saying that most of the decrease has been in the number of people taken into custody as they tried to illegally enter the U.S. along the border with Mexico. The New York senator said the lower demand for labor in the U.S. and stepped-up border enforcement measures are behind the decrease."The border is far more secure than it's...

Just half a mile from the ferry terminal in Calais, a UK-bound lorry driver at the weekend makes the mistake of slowing down to a crawl on the A26 Autoroute des Anglais dual carriageway. At a signal from their fixers, around 100 illegal migrants arise from the wooded verge where they have been concealed and try to swarm aboard the vehicle, and others behind, desperate to find somewhere inside or underneath they could stow away to reach the UK. So intent are they to get to what they see as a land of easy asylum, council housing and generous benefits...