Free Republic

On December 15, Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois introduced his version of Comprehensive Immigration Reform to the House of Representatives. Amongst its many provisions, the bill would eliminate the successful 287(g) immigration enforcement program in which local law enforcement are trained and deputized by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out federal immigration law. Yet, Gutierrez’s bill is not the only blow made against 287(g) this year. Following an early 2009 GAO report that resulted in claims of racial profiling and a lack oversight and direction within 287(g), the Obama administration announced changes to the Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs)...

The Obama administration quietly announced last week that it would overturn one of the harsh immigration enforcement measures enacted by the Bush administration following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Beginning next month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said, those who arrive in the United States fleeing torture or persecution abroad will no longer automatically be welcomed with handcuffs and months in a jail cell. Instead, many of those seeking protection will again be permitted to live freely in the country while their applications for permanent asylum are considered by an immigration judge. The measure is the latest in a string...

Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents... Overall, illegal immigrants' children account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2008, California had the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, double its 1990 number, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey.

...America's broken immigration laws are hurting U.S. workers and overburdening our taxpayers. In 2006, America had 12 million illegal and 26 million legal immigrants. These 38 million immigrants total one-eighth of our population. A third of legal immigrants, and nearly two-thirds of illegal immigrants, haven't completed high school. Nine percent of American citizens aged 18-64 are without a high school degree....admitting large numbers of poorly educated immigrants reduces job prospects and wages for less-educated/skilled Americans. Between 2000 and 2005, jobless Americans without a high school degree increased by 2 million. During the same period, immigrants without high school degrees grew...

Farmers and ranchers live in an ocean of numbers. And like the tide, the numbers - pigs-per-litter, gain-per-pound, bushels-per-acre, dollars-per-bushel - can't be held back; they keep coming and keep adding to our nation's food story. The U.S. Department of Agriculture swells the tide with annual, quarterly, monthly, biweekly, weekly and daily reports. The data are the dots by which all in agriculture and food steer. The steering is about to get harder. Two late August USDA reports confirm that 2006's big numbers won't be big enough for American food producers. At first blush, the first report, the Outlook for...