Free Republic

Billed as the city's largest ever pro-immigrant rally, tens of thousands of protesters are expected to blanket downtown streets Saturday in opposition to a federal bill calling for a 700-mile U.S.-Mexican border wall and the criminalization of illegal immigrants. The proposal was introduced by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and is one of a raft of measures that will be considered by Congress in the coming weeks. While the bills have been cheered by some Americans, they have split the Republican Party on the thorny issue of immigration and stirred anger in immigrant communities. "This is going to be the mother...

WASHINGTON - Efforts to allow illegal immigrants to eventually become legal U.S. residents were given little chance of winning congressional approval as the Senate began work on an election-year immigration bill. The legislation pits several Republican constituencies against each other. Social conservatives and governors say the tide of illegal immigrants is overwhelming their state budgets, but businesses say they want to keep them as a source of labor. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he does not object to allowing illegal immigrants to earn legal permanent residency after several years of work, as proposed by Sens. John McCain,...