Free Republic

Sen. Dick Durbin is calling on churches, synagogues and mosques to carve out time this fall to discuss the so-called DREAM Act with their congregations, despite federal restrictions on lobbying that often apply to religious institutions. The Illinois Democrat is reaching out to the faith community as he tries to advocate for passage of the controversial proposal that would provide a pathway to legal status for illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military. A coalition of religious organizations -- which see the bill as a humane immigration proposal -- had already been pushing for what they call the...

It truly was the opportunity of a lifetime. From June 1-8 thanks to an invitation from The Greatest Generations Foundation headquartered in Denver, I accompanied twelve World War II veterans for a visit to Normandy during the 67th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. For many of these veterans, it was the first time they had been back to Normandy since the June 6, 1944 invasion by the allies. As expected, it was an enormously emotional experience. We crossed the English Channel by ferry from London arriving at dawn with the beaches of Normandy in front of us, creating a visual...

I never give time frames, because you never know where you'll have sufficient evidence to go public with a prosecution, " Mueller said.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Despite the objections of his neighbors, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has ordered city officials to proceed with a plan to erect a six-foot wall around the mayor’s mansion. The wall — which would flank the sides of Getty House in Hancock Park — recently drew the ire of local residents in February when Villaraigosa filed a request for a local variance that prohibits any fencing that exceeds 42 inches in height. A proposed design for the wall includes “embedded” security features...

I apologize in advance, but I have to get this out of my system. I LOVE MY STATE. I love everything about it, like the unique culture. The wonderful Georgia landscape. The agrarian Southern values and tradition. The absolute refusal to go along just because a bully has a gun to our heads. It’s been said that history is replete with turning points. While true, the one staring us as a state in the eye is a crucial one - whether or not to enforce the law of the land. Our federal overseers have consistently failed, time and again, to...

Members of a Latino gang affiliated with the Mexican Mafia conspired for nearly 20 years to drive African-Americans out of the Southern California city of Azusa through violence and intimidation, federal authorities alleged Tuesday. An alleged member of the Azusa 13 gang following a raid Tuesday. Fifty-one alleged members of the Azusa 13 gang were indicted on racketeering and conspiracy charges; six were accused of conspiring to violate the civil rights of African-Americans. The case marks the second time federal civil-rights laws have been used against a gang, authorities said. "The Azusa 13 gang waged a campaign of hate during...

The illegal alien drunk driver who struck and killed a police officer in Houston had not only been twice deported but also twice released from police custody after he was apprehended. Local news media have uncovered a wealth of details about Johoan Rodriguez, who killed 28-year-old cop Kevin Will. The 26-year-old Mexican illegal killed Will after he crashed a police barrier set up to cordon off an area where Will was investigating an accident. The Mexican vagabond was drunk and carrying cocaine in his pocket when his car struck the officer. Will is just the latest victim of the federal...

VIDEO AT LINK A U.S. Marine who was killed when he was gunned down in his home near Tucson, Arizona, never fired on the SWAT team that stormed his house firing 70 times in a hail of bullets, a report has revealed. The revelation came as dramatic footage of the shooting was released, showing the armed team pounding down the door of Jose Guerena's home and opening fire. The father-of-two, who had served twice in Iraq, died on May 5 after the SWAT team descended on his home believing it was one of four houses associated with a drug smuggling...

...The same picture emerges wherever you look. In the European election in June, 2009, the Left took a hammering. In Germany, the Social Democrats polled just 20 per cent of the vote, their worst result since the Second World War. In France, the Socialist Party only mustered 16.5 per cent, its lowest share of the vote in a European election since 1994. In Italy, the Democrats polled 26.1 per cent, seven percentage points less than they received at the last Italian election. As David Miliband pointed out in a recent lecture: “Left parties are losing elections more comprehensively than ever...

VIRGINIA BEACH The 23-year-old man who died of a gunshot wound after being dropped off at a fire station late Tuesday had been attempting an armed home invasion robbery when he was shot, police said. One of the residents at a home in the 300 block of Rose Marie Avenue shot Shawn Thomas Ross, said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman. Police have interviewed the shooter and no charges are being filed at this time, Bernstein said. Ross had been carrying a handgun, he said. “It does not appear to be random, but the relationship between the residents of the...

12,151,113 Skilled American jobs taken by Illegal Immigrants. There would be NO unemployment if it wasn't for Illegal Immigrants. When you cannot buy groceries or pay your bills, because you are out of work, call and thank President Obama and your elected officials. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 23,411,380 Illegal Immigrants in the United States. 5,390,844 Children of Illegal Immigrants in Public Schools. 164,688,684,056 Dollars Cost of Illegals in K-12 Since 1996. 397,456,555,670 Dollars Cost of Social Services for Illegal Aliens Since 1996. 415,422 Illegal Immigrants Incarcerated in United States. 24,663,194,210 Dollars Cost of Incarcerations Since 2001. 772,986 Illegal Immigrant fugitives. 4,947,605 Anchor Babies...

Obama Urges Immigration Reform President Barack Obama visits the U.S.-Mexico border to talk about immigration overhaul and the need for Congress to "finish the work we started".

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- President Barack Obama says his administration has answered the concerns of Republican lawmakers who want the U.S.-Mexico border better secured before they are willing to take on comprehensive immigration reform. Standing at the border Tuesday, Obama mocked Republicans for never being satisfied and always changing the conditions about what's needed to secure the border. Said the president: "Maybe they'll say we need a moat. Or alligators in the moat."

Juan Jose Gutierrez, the president of an immigration activist group called Vamos Unidos, predicts that hundreds of thousands of people will march in Los Angeles on May Day, demanding legalization for illegal immigrants. In an appearance Sunday on the Univision program "Al Punto", Gutierrez said that legalization is the only way out of the current policy stalemate. Expressing alarm that federal authorities have deported more than 800,000 illegal immigrants during the Obama administration, he warned that unless Congress passes immigration reform, mounting frustrations with enforcement of immigration laws could lead to violence. Here is an excerpt from his comments: What...

Fresh off her veto of her state’s “birther” bill, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says that the White House gave her a “snub” by leaving her off the guest list for a meeting about immigration reform. “I wish I would have been invited,” the Republican said Tuesday night on Fox News. “You would have thought one of the governors would have been invited, since we are on the front lines fighting for security there. It was a little bit of a snub, if you will.” More broadly, she said, the meeting illustrated a disconnect between President Barack Obama’s immigration policy goals...

While the Legislature has been going full speed working to draft and pass finance omnibus bills, legislators continue to introduce new bills about issues important to constituents. Reps. Kurt Bills (R-District 37B), Rosemount, and Tara Mack (R-District 37A), Apple Valley, are authors of a bill that looks at people's rights to protect themselves on their private property, HF1467, introduced on Thursday. It would allow people to use "deadly force" against someone who is committing a felony in their home. The bill also includes a provision to make transfer permits valid for five years instead of one year. Mack said she's...

The eurosceptic and anti-immigration True Finns have taken nearly a fifth of votes in Finland's general election, reflecting a trend across Nordic and Western European countries. The phrase "rise of the far-right" has been used - though in each country the parties concerned have their own characteristics and do not necessarily fit the conventional "far-right" description. Here we record the electoral status - and political influence - of some of the most succesful nationalist/ anti-immigrant parties in Europe.

Should Americans believe Janet Napolitano’s rosy picture of a U.S.-Mexico border that’s “as secure as it has ever been” or a Pentagon assessment that it’s actually a gateway for Mexican criminal organizations that have infiltrated the entire country and joined forces with terrorist groups? For months the nation’s Homeland Security Secretary has repeatedly insisted that everything is hunky dory on the southwest border, even as violence escalates and overwhelmed federal agents are increasingly attacked by heavily armed drug smugglers. Just last month Napolitano declared that violence along the Mexican border is merely a mistaken “perception” because the area is...

A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a lower court decision that blocked the most contested provisions of Arizona’s immigration law from taking effect. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that a federal judge did not abuse her discretion in blocking provisions of the law that would, among other things, require police to check immigration status if they stop someone while enforcing other laws. The decision is a victory for the Obama administration,

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...