Free Republic

Standing before "Phoenix Rising," a statue made from hundreds of melted-down guns, law-enforcement leaders set out an initiative to battle the violence that has taken 29 lives in Minneapolis this year -- far eclipsing the total for all of 2009. The plan: to prosecute more cases of illegal gun possession in federal court, where sentences often are longer and often without parole. The message: Commit a serious or repeat gun crime in Minneapolis, and you will face serious prison time. Thursday's news conference was more than just a policy discussion. As officials laid out Project Minneapolis Exile, mothers of slain...

Houston raids reveal drug gangs' savage attacks on illegal immigrants The smuggler, nicknamed "El Pelon," Baldy, forced the 11 illegal immigrants to strip naked shortly after they arrived at the southwest Houston stash house, hoping to complicate any plans for escape. He and the other smugglers led the men up a staircase to a room on the second floor.And there, they lived in what one Honduran immigrant described as a "state of terror" for days while the smugglers attempted to extort more money from their relatives to secure their release. One man said a smuggler stepped on his chest until...

The Obama administration has tapped an outspoken critic of immigration enforcement on the local level to oversee and promote partnerships between federal and local officials. Harold Hurtt, a former police chief in Houston and Phoenix, has been hired as the director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of State and Local Coordination. Starting July 6, Hurtt will supervise outreach and communication between ICE, local law enforcement agencies, tribal leaders and representatives from non-governmental organizations. "Chief Hurtt is a respected member of the law enforcement community and understands the concerns of local law enforcement leaders," said John Morton, the...

Dozens of arrest were made as troublemakers in several locations threw rocks and bottles, set cars on fire, got into fights, and in some cases harassed motorists trying to leave the area, police said. ‘As the crowds left the area, we had some groups that decided to celebrate irresponsibly,’ LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady said.

While those serving time in the Santa Fe County jail can't wait to get out, federal immigration officials are just trying to get in. But the jail's director contends U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities racially profile inmates, and until that stops the welcome mat outside the facility will continue to read: No pasarán. ICE officials insist they are not racially profiling anyone. And they say Santa Fe's refusal to allow them to interview prisoners is hindering their efforts to determine which ones might be here illegally. ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa says it would make sense for the jail to...

San Antonio City Council will be asked today to create what are called ‘prostitution free corridors’ to crack down on the activity in areas where prostitutes are known to frequent. Southeast side Councilwoman Jennifer Ramos says the proposal, which will be floated before the council’s Governance Committee, would designate areas where police and law enforcement will focus on rooting out prostitution. “I want to see if there is a similar way we could attack prostitution, similar to the way we have attacked gang activity in certain parts of town,” Ramos said. Under the District Attorney’s successful gang injunction program, gang...

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told CNSNews.com Thursday that illegal immigration has not contributed to his city’s budget problems, but, on the contrary, that illegal immigration adds to the "economic might" of California. "In California, I think there’s a real sense that these immigrants provide a great deal to the economic might of the state," said Villaraigosa. (Snip).........Daniel Nasaw, BBC News, Washington: The Los Angeles city council has voted to boycott Arizona businesses in one of the strongest moves yet against the state's new immigration law. Council members agreed to bar official travel to Arizona and avoid...

Dennis Prager, syndicated radio talk show host, best selling author and long-time resident of Los Angeles, has called for the rest of the United States to boycott his own city after the Los Angeles City Council voted to cut ties with Arizona business in response the just passed immigration enforcement law, this as the city finances continue to meltdown. Prager was apoplectic about such a dumb move by a City Council whose liberal Democrat policies have devastated the city of Los Angeles by driving businesses away, discouraging further investment, soaking the population with taxes that discourage economic growth and passing...

Illegal Immigration: Los Angeles' city council votes to boycott Arizona for its enforcement of existing federal law. No word yet on how China's human rights violations will be treated. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The next time the Lakers play Los Suns in Phoenix, traveling fans are advised to bring their own snacks. The L.A. City Council voted 13-1 on Wednesday to economically boycott the state of Arizona for daring to protect its borders against the crime, violence and illegal immigration that recently took the life of an Arizona rancher and has made Phoenix the kidnapping capital of...

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors took a symbolic jab at Arizona Tuesday for passing a controversial law last month that gives law enforcement authorities in the Grand Canyon State broad powers to check a person's immigration status. Critics fear the law will lead to racial profiling. San Francisco supervisors, on a 10-1 vote, approved a nonbinding resolution that calls for a boycott of Arizona-based businesses. It asks for, but does not demand, that city departments refrain from entering into new contracts or extending existing ones with companies headquartered in Arizona, unless severing those ties would result in significant costs...

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has urged department heads and other city officials to cancel any pending official travel plans to Arizona in the wake of new immigration legislation in that state. Rybak urged city officials to find alternate ways of accomplishing the same business ends without traveling to the state. Arizona law makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally and authorizes police officers to ask people for proof of citizenship and hand illegal immigrants over to federal enforcers. “This is a terrible law, and I do not want any public dollars to be spent there,” Rybak...

A citizens group is seeking the end of a policy that prevents Phoenix police officers from detaining suspected illegal aliens, questioning a person under arrest about immigration status or notifying federal authorities that an illegal alien is in custody. Members of Protect Our City have started a petition drive to change the city's charter to require that police officers, along with all other city agencies and employees, assist federal authorities in enforcing U.S. immigration law. Randy Pullen, a Republican National Committeeman from Arizona and the project's leader, told The Washington Times that he hopes to gather enough signatures to qualify...

Church leaders quickly voiced opposition to Arizona’s new immigration laws on Friday. They complain that not only will the rules be ineffective in solving the problem, but will promote discrimination. “All the religious leaders of Arizona know and understand that this law will not solve the issue of crime along the border or in our state, but it will demonize anyone who looks suspiciously like an undocumented person leading to inevitable racial profiling,” said the Rev. Jan Flaaten, executive director of Arizona Ecumenical Council, in a statement. “Our religious traditions ask us to treat people with dignity and respect, and...

Count our own George Gascon among the nation's police chiefs speaking out against a controversial Arizona immigration bill that would require police officers in that state to arrest anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. Gascon, who was the top cop in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa before being tapped for the San Francisco job last year, said the Arizona legislation "will have a catastrophic effect on policing and set back community policing efforts for decades." Some cops are warning the law would impede their efforts to fight violent crime because witnesses and victims will be reluctant to...

AN AUSTRALIAN woman is being deported from the US because her son punched a classmate and stole 53 cents. Tracey Washington and her two sons, aged 13 and 5, will be kicked out on Friday under a controversial San Francisco policy that forced the city's juvenile authorities to turn the elder child over to federal US Immigration and Customs officials. Mrs Washington moved to San Francisco from Melbourne in February last year to marry Charles Washington, 42, whom she met on holidays six years ago. However, Mrs Washington and the boys were declared illegal immigrants in May after she missed...

"When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when you number them." -- Exodus 30:12. No one talked about plagues or ransoms during a news conference today at St. John's United Methodist Church downtown.... These local leaders gathered to promote "Census Sabbath" (PDF) March 5-7. They encouraged pastors, rabbis, priests and other spiritual leaders to dedicate sermons and other messages to the value of returning 2010 Census forms that will arrive in mailboxes...

On Saturday night, Virginia Beach police arrested Jorge Alberto Fuertes Loredo, 31, and Isidor Loredo Amaya, 31, after Florentino Martinez-Melendez, 40, was shot to death in a trailer park. A second victim survived the shooting but remains in critical condition in a local hospital. Apparently, the fatal shooting was the result of a heated argument. Both Loredo and Amaya have been charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Both Mexican nationals are in the country illegally, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have placed a hold on them. Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney, Harvey Bryant,...

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! A warrior in the fight against illegal immigration and those who promote it for over a decade! From the streets of Los Angeles to the halls of congress, Terry has been there. No one has the passion and common sense of Terry Anderson...He is A MUST listen! The BEST one hour of radio you'll find anywhere. Sunday Nights- Listen on the radio! 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas -- KFNX - 1100...

In one case, an innocent man died in gang’s 3 tries to kill target It was not the first time a rival tried to kill Mexican drug cartel-connected gangster Santiago “Chago” Salinas, but it would be the last. When 28-year-old Salinas was shot in the head at point-blank range three years ago at the Baymont Inn & Suites hotel on the Gulf Freeway, it was the latest round in a deadly feud that has played out here and in Mexico. Just a few weeks before, Salinas' brother-in-law who also had lived in Houston, was found dead, charred in a barrel...

This just in from Yahoo: LAPD William Bratton is stepping down as chief of the LAPD. Bratton is part of the problem with big city policing these days. There was a time when Los Angeles had one of the best and toughest big city police departments in the entire nation. The legendary police chief, William Parker, molded the LAPD into a tough, no nonsense crime fighting machine, and apolitical at that. Parker was followed by some very able and professional chiefs as well including Ed Davis and Daryl Gates who worked to keep the department highly professional and independent of...