Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- The members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will meet next week with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to discuss enforcement of Alabama's immigration law, according to Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. Gutierrez, a leading critic on Capitol Hill of states that try to police immigration themselves, said he wants the federal government's top immigration officials to emphasize that they will not deport illegal immigrants snagged in Alabama's dragnet unless they have a record of other crimes. President Barack Obama's administration has announced that its policy puts a higher priority on deporting those with criminal records, and less...

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) thanked President Obama for circumventing the Legislative branch when it comes to immigration law. Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code makes it a federal crime to be in the United States illegally. Nevertheless, the Obama administration in August directed federal immigration officials to use "prosecutorial discretion" in deciding which illegal aliens to detain and deport. “We had a president of the United States that recently was speaking at National Council of La Raza who said during his speech, ‘There are those who simply wish me to bypass Congress when it comes to immigration,’ and...

On July 26, 2011, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois) was arrested outside of the White House after refusing to move when asked by authorities. Gutierrez, who sat in front of a sign that read "Stop Separating Our Families" with a line of protesters, refused to leave when asked by the police. Gutierrez was in attendance at a rally urging President Obama to do more to stop the deportation of illegal immigrants. MRCTV caught up with Gutierrez before he was arrested in which he said, "I think (President Obama) should use the broad discretionary power that the laws have conferred upon him...

Congressman told FBI he asked for -- and got -- free home upgrades ### Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko gave U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez free upgrades on a riverfront town house after the congressman asked for them, Gutierrez told the FBI, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Gutierrez's comments to federal agents in a previously undisclosed 2008 interview contradict what the congressman told the Sun-Times in 2006 about the purchase. "I walked in with my wife -- as any other consumer could have -- and purchased the unit at the listed price, with no considerations," the Northwest Side congressman said then,...

United States Congressman Luis Gutierrez has threatened civil disobedience if the DREAM Act, which would have offered a pathway to American citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants, is not passed into law. "We're going to make it uncomfortable for the Democratic Party," Gutierrez said, adding that immigration advocates would step up the pressure by drawing lessons from the movements for civil rights and women's suffrage. "There'll probably be civil disobedience. There will probably be a number of different actions. What we have to do is we have to break through this wall of silence, because we're invisible." Well, the DREAM...

Here is video of Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez (appears at around the :50 mark) being arrested outside the White House today as he took part in an Immigration Rally/Protest. Gutierrez wore a T-Shirt that said, "Arrest Me, Not My Friends," as he protested with dozens of others. The protest sought to put pressure on President Obama to push for passage of an Immigration Bill in Congress. He should be so proud. It's always a great example for a lawmaker to break the law.

FOX News reports Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) had planned to be arrested for civil disobedience.

Dems vigilant on Puerto Rico bill Two of the most prominent Hispanic Democrats in Congress are continuing their all-out offensive to kill a bill that would mandate a vote on Puerto Rico’s political status. And they’re taking direct aim at their leadership. Democratic Reps. Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.) and Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) sent out an e-mail to members of Congress Thursday morning urging them to vote no on the Puerto Rican Democracy Act, which would allow the island’s residents to vote yes or no on whether they want to continue their political status. If that vote garnered a majority who didn’t...

Shhh! Don't tell anybody but Congress is scheduled to vote today on H.R. 2499, a bill that could end up paving the way to Puerto Rican statehood, that is being presented with such incredible stealth that it has been given almost no coverage in the mainstream media. In fact, about the only person in the media shining a light on this bill until recently has been Glenn Beck. Liberals can be expected to write off Beck's criticisms of H.R. 2499 as just another example of "right-wing kookery." Frances Martel of Mediaite has already mocked Beck for his opposition to this...

A congressman from the president’s home state is threatening that he will urge Latino voters to stay home this November if the Democratic Party does not make a concerted effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) is arguably President Barack Obama’s biggest Democratic critic in Congress. And he’s not fond of Obama’s top advisers at the White House, either. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) member has strongly criticized the administration’s policy on deportation and questioned its commitment to far-reaching reform. Some Democrats have felt little urgency in pursuing the controversial issue, partly because they see no risk...

Representative Luis Gutierrez (D, IL) will introduce another stab at "comprehensive immigration reform" this month and it's been given another one of those Orwellian names that you know means the opposite of what it says in the title. Gutierrez is calling this mess the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, or the CIR ASAP -- in other words Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP. The simple fact of the matter is that, regardless of the name, this legislation will do nothing whatever to help our security or our prosperity. In fact it will damage both. In his...

They always say Hispanics do jobs that other Americans won’t do. Believe it. You even see it in Congress. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) is getting ready to do something that none of his non-Hispanic colleagues are the least bit anxious to do: introduce a bill calling for comprehensive immigration reform. Why the hesitation? Simple: grabbing hold of this thorny issue is a sure way to lose friends and infuriate people. Here are three things to keep in mind about the legislation: (1) It will likely be the template for what Gutierrez recently predicted would be a rebooting of the immigration...

... President Obama was blasted by a top Latino ally on Monday for modifying his health-care plan in the face of conservative criticism. The criticism was leveled in Spanish by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois who was the first Latino member of Congress to endorse Barack Obama for president. Referring to the Obama administration, Gutierrez said: "Those who should be our friends, our allies, are more and more giving Rep. (Joe) Wilson, R-S.C., exactly what he wants to continue with this prejudice against our community." Gutierrez, who made his remarks in Washington, D.C., while participating in a panel...

(CNSNews.com) – In emotional testimony before a House joint panel this week, a Virginia man recalled the death of his teenage daughter in 2007 – a death caused by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk and who had been arrested twice before the crime, but was not deported. “Two years ago this week, my 16-year-old daughter, Tessa, and her best friend Allison were killed as they were sitting at in intersection waiting for a red light to change,” Ray Tranchant said, as friends placed a photograph of Tessa Tranchant on an easel behind him. Since his daughter’s death, Tranchant,...

SAN FRANCISCO — The 109th and 110th editions of the U.S. Congress debated and battled but never came up with a major immigration bill that its members could pass. Whether the 111th Congress will fare any better remains to be seen. In the first of what is likely to be many more salvos, a Chicago-area congressman will be touring the Bay Area this weekend, issuing a faith-focused call to make immigration reform a national priority — even as foreclosures, health care and urgent economic troubles vie for President Barack Obama's attention. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, is scheduled to...

Rep. Luis Gutierrez and his friends from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will be conducting a nationwide tour to push for "comprehensive immigration reform", i.e., amnesty. What I need you to do is to organize local efforts to go to these meetings and ask him or his nationally-known colleagues questions designed to discredit them. Video of that can then be uploaded to Youtube. Note that I'm talking about questions designed to show that they're lying or not telling the whole truth or that they haven't thought through the impacts of their policies. I'm not talking about rants, open ended questions, and...

Obama pick faces questions over bombers' clemencyBy PETE YOST Associated Press Writer Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 2:05 PM WASHINGTON — New York police detective Anthony S. Senft's life changed forever when a bomb set by Puerto Rican separatists exploded, blowing him 15 feet in the air and blinding him in one eye. Now, he's angry that Eric Holder, who played a key role in awarding clemency to the bombers, is in line to be attorney general. Holder, as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, worked closely with the Justice Department's pardon attorney to raise the possibility of...

Most notable among the petitions for clemency granted during Holder’s tenure is the request from 16 members of a Puerto Rican Marxist terrorist group, the Armed Forces of National Liberation, known by its Spanish acronym FALN, which engaged in a robbery and terror campaign in both the U.S. and Puerto Rico during the 1970s and 1980s. The clemency petition, which was supported by Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-N.Y.), Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) and Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), became the subject of fiery controversy after it was revealed that none of the convicted terrorists had renounced violence and that their victims had not been...

Three Democratic lawmakers who spoke Wednesday about alleged anti-immigrant coverage by conservative media outlets were not aware of a recent State Department travel alert warning Americans about military-like "combat" along the southern U.S. border in Mexico, where Americans are being kidnapped and murdered. "The situation in northern Mexico remains very fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements there cannot be predicted," said the State Department alert. "Armed robberies and carjackings, apparently unconnected to the narcotics-related violence, have increased in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. Dozens of U.S. citizens were kidnapped and/or murdered in Tijuana in 2007." When asked about...

Plan would grant temporary legal status to millions and offer a path to citizenship.WASHINGTON -- Bipartisan legislation to be unveiled today in the House of Representatives would offer temporary legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants but would require them to leave the country before they could be eligible for permanent residency and U.S. citizenship. The bill by Reps. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., is the first major immigration legislation to be introduced in the current session of Congress, as lawmakers address the status of more than 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. A comprehensive Senate immigration...

March 21, 2007 Yesterday, Congressmen Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) held a conference call with reporters in which they announced their intention to introduce a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill on Thursday. There were few substantive details released at that time, but sources tell us that at the very least, the bill will contain some sort of amnesty provision for illegal aliens currently in the United States. This morning, CongressDaily reports that Congressmen Flake and Gutierrez, who had been participating in negotiations with Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) about the components of a new immigration bill,...

Two Democratic congressmen who could have mounted formidable challenges to longtime Mayor Richard Daley announced Thursday that they will not run for mayor next year because of their party's new found power in Congress. The power shift on Capitol Hill bodes well for both Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez. "More than any time since I took my initial oath of office, I am excited, eager, and downright giddy about the prospects in Washington," said Jackson, the son of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. "In short, Tuesday's election made for a big night, and a new day." Jackson said...

Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for DATE HERE (not the live thread)Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page Meme: Don't believe what the dinosaur media is telling you about November, but don't discount it, either Topics: "Runs, Hits and Errors"A discussion of GOP prospects (from OpinionJournal web site) After Tom DeLay's departure, how bad does November's election now look for Republicans, and can they do anything to stop a rout? The 2006 elections: With DeLay out of the picture, can the GOP get its mojo back? (FNC web site)Baseball steroids (from OpinionJournal web site) Major League Baseball finally confronts...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom Tancredo and an Illinois congressman traded charges of racism during a heated confrontation following a televised appearance Wednesday on immigration reform, both their congressional offices confirmed today. Tancredo and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., are frequent sparring partners on the talk show circuit as Congress works to pass some version of immigration reform. Tancredo is a leading advocate of tougher enforcement against illegal immigrants and people who hire them. Gutierrez, the son of Mexican immigrants, calls Tancredo's approach "ugly policy" motivated by racism. On Wednesday, they appeared together on CNBC, and when the cameras stopped rolling the...

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Chicago) Tuesday invited the president of the company that makes American Girl dolls to visit Pilsen after the firm angered some Hispanics by describing the neighborhood in a storybook as "dangerous.'' Meanwhile, Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) said he had set up a meeting for next week with a representative from Mattel, American Girl's parent company, to discuss what he said was "probably an unintended mistake.'' The Wisconsin-based American Girl rankled some when it set the back story of a new doll in Chicago. The storybook describes how a Mexican-American girl named Marisol Luna moves to suburban...