Free Republic

Matt Lewis says he’s improving on this issue. I guess, but that’s mainly because after you’ve tried to win over voters by calling them heartless, there’s really nowhere to go but up. A scene from New Hampshire this morning: “We have, for decades, had a federal government that has absolutely failed in its constitutional duty to defend our border,” Perry said. “I’m a governor. I don’t have the pleasure of standing on the stage and criticizing. I have to deal with these issues,” he later added. Perry continued, “In 2001, we had this choice: Are we going to kick these...

A group of Los Angeles college students plans to take their fight for immigration rights to the states and the 2012 election after Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have given thousands of young illegal immigrants a path to legal status. But it won't be easy. Immigration experts say Saturday's vote to nix the proposal dealt a harsh blow to activists who will have an even steeper uphill battle in the next Congress. Illegal immigrant students say they will push for access to financial aid and drivers' licenses in states like California. Critics of the bill called it a backdoor...

Senate Democrats have introduced their fifth version of the DREAM Act this year in a bid to tackle concerns from critics and win support from a handful of moderate lawmakers from both parties. But the immigration legislation continues to draw fire from opponents and face stiff odds in the lame-duck session — and this was even before Republicans vowed Wednesday to filibuster all bills until the Senate votes to extend Bush-era tax cuts and fund the federal government. The DREAM Act would provide a path to legalization for immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children, if they...

Well if you listen to the left, it’s because you would be a racist. This post gives the precise reason for amending the 14th amendment to the US Constitution and the left’s crazy, lunatic response. Once again raaaaaaaaacist. Lindsey Graham brought it up a week ago and this first clip explains why, given the problems the country has had in controlling illegal immigration, one of the things he would like to ensure is that there will not be another wave of illegals entering country. As Graham states, as long as there is an incentive to come into this country illegally,...

PHOENIX (AP) — Sen. John McCain's Republican primary challenger has released a new ad using McCain's own voice admitting to lying in the past. Former congressman J.D. Hayworth's campaign released the commercial Thursday. It uses McCain's voice from the recording of his 2002 book, in which McCain recalls publicly supporting South Carolina's right to fly the Confederate flag, even though he personally opposed it. McCain says on the recording: " ... it could come down to lying or losing. I chose lying." The ad suggests McCain is again lying about his record on illegal immigration.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Sen. John McCain hasn't always talked tough on immigration. That haunted his presidential ambitions, and now his political survival hinges on whether he can show that his conversion is genuine. It hasn't been easy. Boycotts, vigils and a legal fight over the state's attempted crackdown on illegal immigrants have kept voters attuned to each nuance in his run for re-election. "Since 2007, I've said we have to secure the border first. I said it in 2008 and 2009 and 2010," McCain told 120 people at a town hall meeting in suburban Phoenix. Leaning against the back wall...

One of the most violent criminal organizations in Mexico has set up camp in Los Angeles. From here controls the distribution of the drug to other parts of the country and, as an informant, who began to recruit out of California prisons to become assassins. This is the formidable organization of the Zetas, a group of Mexican army deserters in the late 90's became the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel and then consolidated as a group of assassins that has fought wars against different mafia organizations in Mexico and has partnered with some of them. Los Zetas began his...

PHOENIX - In the race for U.S. Senate, J.D. Hayworth is accusing John McCain of flip-flopping on the issue of illegal immigration. Does McCain want border security or a path to citizenship for illegals -- or both? McCain once championed comprehensive immigration reform that would allow people here illegally a path to citizenship. "The present situation with broken borders and 11 million people that are in America without citizenship is unacceptable," he said on the campaign trail. Now McCain says border security must come first before tackling what to do with the 12 million illegals already living in the u.s.....

Several Senators have learned of a possible plan by the Obama Administration that would provide a mass Amnesty for the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), eight Senators addressed a letter to the President asking for answers to questions about a plan that would allow DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide an amnesty if they can't secure enough votes for a bill in the Senate. The letter that was sent to Pres. Obama earlier today asks the President for clarification on the use of deferred action or parole for illegal aliens. The executive actions are...

From ABC News... (snip) "McCain was supportive of the Dream Act in the past... we saw him as a champion in some ways, and we hope that comes back," said Abdollahi. Now the next paragraph is the money paragraph and I certainly hope Arizona voters are paying attention. McCain has been on all sides of this issue and now that he is facing reelection he is trying to convince voters that he will protect the borders. Let's see what he says when under pressure from the left. A McCain spokesperson told ABC News the senator will support the so-called "Dream...

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Barack Obama said Wednesday that there "may not be an appetite" in Congress to deal with immigration immediately after going through a tough legislative year. With energy legislation on the table and midterm elections approaching, Obama said he didn't want to force an immigration bill through Congress "just for the sake of politics." Still, he said discussions on the issue must move forward in a way that can garner the support of the American people. "We've gone though a very tough year and I've been working Congress very hard, so I know there may...

President Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged to bring his own party along to reform the nation's broken immigration system, pleading with Republicans to join in as the only realistic hope to solve a politically volatile problem. Obama also offered fresh, stern criticism of a new Arizona law that allows police to question anyone about their immigration status if they have reason to suspect they are in the country illegally. The president said a comprehensive federal immigration effort is needed to prevent "bad laws" like Arizona's. "I will bring the majority of Democrats to the table in getting this done," Obama...

(snip) This is also an about-face on immigration reform for Graham because he has been pressing the White House to move forward on comprehensive reform on that issue as well. His move comes just one day after Obama called on both parties to pass immigration reform on the federal level in response to a new law in Arizona that will allow local police to stop individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants. Democrats privately charged Saturday that Graham was trying to scuttle immigration reform in order to protect his close friend, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, from having to deal with a...

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) threatened to abandon his effort to push a climate and energy bill Saturday, saying he will only continue if Democratic leaders promise to relinquish plans to bring up immigration legislation first. Graham's departure, if he follows through on his ultimatum, would likely doom any chance of passing a climate bill this year. He is the sole Republican working with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) on a compromise proposal which they had planned to unveil Monday. In a letter to leaders of the effort to enact climate and energy legislation, Graham wrote,...

(snip) McCain went on to discuss border concerns, expressing his frustration regarding the recent death of Douglas area rancher Robert Krentz, who authorities suspect was killed by drug smugglers. “The border is not secure and there is an increase in border violence. There have been more than 14,000 people killed in Mexico in the past few years. These include government officials, police and three Americans,” he explained. McCain’s believes a physical fence is what is needed, not the virtual fence with surveillance UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) that he believes are ineffective. “The bad news is that the government has contracted...

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, told an exuberant crowd at an immigration rally Saturday in Las Vegas that Congress would start work on immigration overhaul as soon as lawmakers return this week. “We’re going to have comprehensive immigration reform now,” he said in a speech to more than 6,000 people, mostly immigrants. “We need to do this this year,” Reid said, drawing cheers from the crowd. Reid told the crowd he believes he has 56 Senate votes in support of the legislation. He outlined legislation that would include border security measures and a temporary guest worker program. To gain...

(snip) I know the answer. It's my fault. It's because of me, and tens of millions of other Americans just like me. We create the demand for illegal immigrant labor not because of anything we do but because of all the things that we will not do -- at any wage. Even as someone who juggles several jobs, I have to admit that my work ethic -- especially for hard, physical labor -- is a distant second to that of my immigrant grandfather who came from Mexico legally in the early 1900's. My grandfather was a farm worker who would...

COCHISE COUNTY - News 4 has confirmed that a well-known rancher in Southeastern Arizona has died. Investigators say Rob Krentz was found shot to death Saturday night near his ranch. Saturday morning Krentz reportedly left the ranch on a quad and called home a short time later to report an illegal immigrant, whom he thought was in need of medical attention. That was the last time anyone heard from him. Investigators located Krentz alongside his dog who we understand had been shot. Krentz leaves behind and wife and 3 children. According to the Arizona Farming and Ranching Hall of...

Campaign staff and volunteers of Sen. John McCain and his former vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin are preparing for the pair’s appearance at Mesa’s Dobson High School on Saturday. A spokesman for the camp offered a bit of advice for those wanting to get in: “Folks should get there early,” said Brian Rogers, McCain’s communications director.The event is free, on a first-come, first-served basis and does not require a ticket. (snip) Also speaking at a rally in Tucson on Friday, the appearances are McCain and Palin’s first ones together at a public event since their concession speech in the...

Yesterday, I attended the so-called "March for America" in Washington, DC with two fellow YWC members. We wanted to see the constituency for "comprehensive immigration reform" ourselves. The MSM has already leapt into action to put a pro-amnesty spin on the rally. We are told "a few demonstrators waved flags from other countries." That's not what I saw. YWC shot about 200 photos of the rally and an hour of footage with two video cameras. I've uploaded all our photos to Flickr here, here, and here. The videos we shot will be uploaded to YouTube later this afternoon. We caught...

The lone Republican senator inclined to support the Obama administration's bid to pass a major immigration overhaul said Friday that if a healthcare bill passes this weekend, the immigration effort is dead for the year. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is considered a crucial player in the immigration debate -- a Republican prepared to cross party lines and vote for a bill that would provide a path to legal status for the 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. Graham has spent months working with Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) to draft an immigration bill. The two met...

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) unveiled their bipartisan blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform Thursday, a move hailed by President Barack Obama as progress on an issue for which he has been criticized for ignoring. “The American people deserve more than empty rhetoric and impractical calls for mass deportation. We urge the public and our colleagues to join our bipartisan efforts in enacting these reforms,” the Senators said in a Washington Post editorial posted online Thursday. The Schumer-Graham outline entails four key components: a biometric Social Security identification card for employment verification; strengthened border security and interior law...

This weekend, dozens of Southern Californians plan to march in Washington for immigration reform, joining thousands of activists from around the country. Today, a different group of Southern Californians – members of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce – heard from a U.S. senator who took a lot of political heat for his efforts at immigration reform. The question arose at lunch during the Chamber’s annual lobbying trip to Washington. What did Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona think the U.S. should do about the “flood of immigrants” “running over” California? McCain cosponsored the last major immigration reform bill with...

Senator Lindsey Graham, ever the faithful follower of uber-RINO John McCain, scored three RINO initiatives in just one week. Reminiscent of the "the band's getting back together" scenes from the movie "Blues Brothers", Graham and McCain reached back to the good old days of bipartisan shafting of conservative judicial nominees and offered the Democrats another "Gang of Fourteen"--this time to shaft the public with a bipartisan Obamacare bill. The offer must have been tempting to the Democrats who remember how "bipartisan leadership" from Graham and McCain spiked conservative guns when the Republicans were in the majority in the Senate. But...

WASHINGTON -- Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Chuck Schumer of New York discussed major immigration reforms Thursday with President Barack Obama at a White House meeting. Graham, a Republican, waded back into a political minefield on a controversial issue that has prompted conservative activists across the nation to vilify him since he helped lead a failed Senate bid to overhaul the immigration system in 2007. Obama has faced more recent criticism from Latino lawmakers and advocacy groups accusing him of failing to deliver on a 2008 campaign promise to help the 12 million undocumented workers in the United...

President Obama said Thursday that he would proceed with an overhaul of the immigration system this year if he could attract substantial Republican support. But a leading Republican who supports an overhaul said a bill could not go forward if the president used a legislative shortcut sidestepping Republicans to pass his health care bill. Obama spent most of the afternoon in meetings on immigration, including one with Senator Charles Schumer [D-NY]. and Senator Lindsey Graham [R-SC]. who have been holding closed-door sessions over the last six months to draw up a bill to revamp the immigration system. The White House...

I cannot tell how much of this outrage about Sarah Palin's endorsement of McCain is feigned by those who do not wish her well. It is not principally to those folks that this post is directed. To those conservatives who are genuinely disappointed by Sarah Palin's decision to support McCain, let me say that I think Rush and Mark Levin understand it and have said that it is a question of loyalty and that loyalty is a virtue. That makes sense to me and, personally, I would be a little put off if she did otherwise, since it would look...

An anti-gang officer in Hemet, Calif., discovered a deadly device attached to his car Friday — in what appears to be the third attempt in the past two months to injure or kill members of an anti-gang unit in southwest Riverside County, MyFoxLA.com reported. An officer with the Hemet/San Jacinto Gang Task Force called for back-up after discovering a threatening device next to his car, parked outside of a store. Authorities cordoned off the intersection near the vehicle while a bomb unit disabled the instrument.

It is early evening on Capitol Hill, and I am sitting with Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, who, along with John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, is trying to craft a new energy bill — one that could actually win 60 votes. What is interesting about Graham is that he has been willing — courageously in my view — to depart from the prevailing G.O.P. consensus that the only energy policy we need is “drill, baby, drill.” What brought you around, I ask? Graham’s short answer: politics, jobs and legacy. We start with politics. The Republican Party today has...

Today, with the help of Big Hollywood’s Leigh Scott, I begin my tribute series to Governor Sarah Palin. Scott Leigh, a horror film-maker reminiscent of my not-always-so-hard-times spent with Larry Cohen, had this to say about what the Left fears about Sarah Palin: What they fear is that Palin would actually stick to fiscally conservative principles. She would reform the tax laws to make them fair and rational. She would clip the influence of labor unions. She would end the unholy alliance of Big Government and Big Business. She may actually extend women’s rights to choose to include how they...

(snip) On immigration: McCain stressed the importance of securing the border and establishing a legal temporary-worker program. Foreign workers could take jobs that Americans wouldn't want - such as agricultural jobs in Yuma that go begging - with the burden on employers to quit employing each person at the end of some specified time. Kyl faulted the administration for short-changing border enforcement. (snip)

The conversation ranged widely. Topics included job creation, helping Main Street and not Wall Street, overcoming congressional gridlock and reminding residents that he's still the same maverick politician he has been for nearly 24 years. U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was in Flagstaff Tuesday on the heels of former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth's announcement to run against McCain in the Republican primary in August. He sat down with the Arizona Daily Sun editorial board before giving remarks at the Coconino County Lincoln Day Dinner at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel. During the 75-minute question-and-answer session, he reiterated that his positions haven't...

WASHINGTON -- Failing to overhaul the nation's immigration system, currently a backburner issue for Congress and President Barack Obama, could play a pivotal role in key mid-term election races in November, according to a new study on Latino voting patterns. The report by America's Voice, which supports comprehensive new immigration policies, says revising the laws is the defining issue for Latino voters. The report says that progress - or the lack thereof - in revamping immigration laws and regulations could affect as many as 40 congressional races in areas with sizeable Latino populations, including the re-election bids of Senate Majority...

Sarah endorses INCREASING immigration with Glenn Beck: PALIN: Let me address legal immigration and we need to continue to be so welcoming and inviting of those who are represented there by our Statue of Liberty. The immigrants, of course, built this country. And I think republicans, conservatives are at fault when we allow the other side to capture this immigration issue and try to turn this issue into something negative for republicans. I think we need to recognize that again, immigrants built this great country. There are rules to follow if you want to be a part of this great...

In 2000, Senator John McCain asked me to campaign on his behalf for president. I was honored to do so. I remember traveling to South Carolina to act as a one-man truth squad and doing countless television interviews for John. It was a tremendous experience and, as we all know, John came up short. But as always, he fought hard for what he thought was right. But the John McCain I supported for president in 2000 is not the same John McCain I’ve watched frustrate conservatives time and again as our senator. He still fights hard, all right, but too...

An ambitious, $6.7 billion government project to secure nearly the entire Mexican border with a "virtual fence" of cameras, ground sensors and radar is in jeopardy after a string of technical glitches and delays.

I don't claim to be clairvoyant....... a political prognosticator..... But I am going to make a prediction today about U.S. Senate race being held in Arizona .... U.S. Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, is going to get beat. One of the false assumptions many Republicans hold following the special election for the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts ...., is that this is simply a bad year for Democrats. It will be a bad year for Democrats running for re-election in the House and Senate, but it's not just because they are Democrats. It's because they are incumbents...

Presidential nominee in 2008 faces GOP primary fight. BY JOSEPH WEBER Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, Arizona Republican, said in an interview Monday that his planned primary challenge to Sen. John McCain will portray the four-term incumbent as a not-so-conservative Republican who has "enabled" President Obama and his failed economic and security policies. "I'm giving Arizona Republicans a clear choice between a consistent, common-sense conservative . . . or someone who describes himself as a maverick but is a moderate," the outspoken Mr. Hayworth told The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio show. Mr. Hayworth, 51, quit his job Friday as...

Link only, per FR copyright rules

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a leading congressional advocate for immigrants' rights, has introduced a bill that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens and would end a controversial program that enlists local police to enforce immigration laws. The bill is widely viewed as too liberal to pass. Obama administration officials have said they are looking instead to a more moderate, bipartisan immigration-reform bill to be introduced in the Senate early next year by Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).Still, the Chicago Democrat made it clear that he and his allies expect a seat at the...

The SEIU needs more dues-paying members. The open-borders lobby needs something to do. Voila! Meet the new illegal alien shamnesty push ... The bill would torpedo the joint federal-local deportation program known as 287(g) and opposes beefing up our land borders with more Border Patrol agents or fencing. SEIU has been lobbying for illegal alien amnesty as a massive membership booster all year. In May, the Purple Shirts held a pro-illegal immigration rally from Malcolm X Park to the White House to put pressure on homeland security officials to call off workplace raids (not that Janet Napolitano needed any convincing):

Millions of undocumented people in the U.S. should be given a path to legal status after the country finds a way to stop illegal immigration, business and government leaders said in a report Wednesday. The University of Denver report argues that legalizing as many of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants as possible could strengthen the economy and national security. But it should come with conditions, such as requiring new immigrants to learn English, pass criminal and medical background checks, and pay any taxes that they owe, the document states. The report is the product of a year of discussions...

Dobbs Says He Now Backs Amnesty Wednesday, November 25, 2009 By: Dan Weil In a little-noticed interview last week, Lou Dobbs announced that he now supports amnesty for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States Since he left his job as a CNN commentator two weeks ago, Dobbs’ has been bandied about as a Senate candidate in New Jersey. And now he is indicating that he might run for president. But Dobbs became famous for his strong views on illegal immigration and foreign trade. Now that he’s a would-be politician, those views appear to be softening....

As immigrants’ rights groups are pressing President Barack Obama to step up efforts at comprehensive reform this year, one prominent member of Obama’s cabinet is acknowledging that the economic downturn has made legalization of illegal immigrants tougher to sell to the American public. “When unemployment is up, anything that looks like you’re taking jobs away from …people who are lawfully here—citizens of the United States—is going to meet a lot of resistance,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said during an exchange with reporters Tuesday morning. The homeland security chief and former Arizona governor said the economic slump may also have...

The senator's partial term was marked by frustration and failure, experts say. BY WILLIAM MARCH TAMPA - Mel Martinez may go down in Florida history as the reluctant senator. During his short Senate career, from 2005 until this week, Martinez took stands on principle and stuck loyally by his friends, particularly President George W. Bush, even when it hurt him politically. But circumstances and his own mistakes conspired to mark his partial term with much frustration and little accomplishment, experts in Congress say. In an interview last week, Martinez acknowledged that frustration. "It is true," he said. "The Senate works...

Wes Hickman, a spokesman for Mr. Graham, said in a statement that "Senator Graham is ready and willing to play a key role in immigration reform. He intends to work with many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle."

Schumer: “Borders Now Secure” $1 Trillion in Extra Health Care Costs by Paul L. Williams, Ph.D. thelastcrusade.org Charles Schumer (D-NY), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says that the borders are now “secure enough to move forward on immigration reform.”Mr. Schumer’s statement comes on the heels of the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Robert Rosas, who was gunned down by members of a Mexican smuggling ring in July.Five suspects have been taken into custody by Mexican law enforcement officials.Immigration reform for Mr. Schumer, according to the Minuteman PAC, is the granting of full amnesty to all illegal aliens who...

(snip) McCain said the presence of the Guard will not only help prevent the violence in Mexico from spilling across the border, but will also take some pressure off of the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs. "When the bad guys see Americans in uniform, it has an effect on them, no doubt about it," McCain said. "But also there is work that Guard personnel could do to relieve the burden from Border Patrol and Customs." That being said, McCain added that cooperation with Mexico on border issues will continue to be important. As part of his trip to Yuma, McCain...

Obama stayed away from hot-button words in remarks Thursday on immigration reform, but hinted that his immigration push will include some kind of “amnesty” or “legal path” for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Obama also said Thursday he is making U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano a key point person on the immigration reform push

WASHINGTON — President Obama told congressional lawmakers Thursday that he would push for an overhaul of the nation's immigration system by early next year. But during the White House meeting, a new political obstacle came into view: how to regulate the influx of foreign workers. The issue was raised by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a principal architect of past attempts to rewrite immigration laws. McCain challenged Obama and other Democrats to stand up to labor unions that are pushing a plan business groups fear could be overly restrictive in admitting future immigrant workers. "I would expect the president of the...