Free Republic

With half of the nation’s Border Patrol workforce reassigned to provide humanitarian support for "vulnerable populations," a record number of illegal immigrants have slipped into the United States and "disappeared into border communities," the agency’s chief told Congress. The overwhelmed frontline Homeland Security agency has managed to apprehend a record 593,000 illegal aliens this year, but an additional 100,000 have made it through and remain somewhere in the country.

Democratic presidential hopefuls face a challenge as they gather in Miami for the opening round of primary debates: presenting immigration ideas that go beyond simply bashing the Trump administration. Most of the proposals that the contenders have advanced combine long-held Democratic priorities — such as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of people in the country illegally — with lofty rhetoric and plenty of knocks on President Donald Trump. But many of the candidates have simply scratched the surface of a far deeper issue. Immigrant advocates say they worry that the Trump administration’s hard-line tactics, including a publicized but...

President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a small-scale deportation operation has created an opening for Sen. Lindsey Graham’s push to swap an amnesty for border reforms, say pro-immigration reformers. Graham already “is negotiating with [Democratic Sen. Richard] Durbin — [and] he’s not pulling the Republicans together” to present a united front, said Jessica Vaughan, policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies. On June 19, for example, Graham told Democratic Senators at a committee meeting that he is willing to trade an amnesty to get a border fixes. “I am willing to deal with DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]...

Continuing an Obama practice of punishing American businesses that don’t accommodate Muslims, the Trump administration is suing the nation’s largest bus carrier for refusing to let a female driver wear a long, loose-fitting robe symbolic of Islamic piety.

A group of Senate Democrats led by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has called for amnesty to be offered to potentially millions of illegal immigrants who are already living in the United States.The group claims that American citizens “have an obligation” to give amnesty to foreign nationals living in the US because they have “earned the right” to be in this country.Senate Dems are now demanding the Senate follows the recent move by House Democrats, and seven House Republicans, who passed an expansive amnesty to any illegal immigrant who claims they entered the US as a child.

A group of Senate Democrats say American citizens “have an obligation” to give amnesty to potentially millions of foreign nationals living in the United States who they say have “earned the right” to be in the country. After House Democrats and seven House Republicans passed an expansive amnesty to any illegal alien claiming to have arrived in the U.S. as a child, Senate Democrats are now demanding the Senate do the same. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are urging the GOP-controlled Senate to pass their amnesty plan, which gives nearly...

The pro-mass immigration Koch brothers’ network of billionaire, donor-class organizations is readying to financially back Democrats, so long as they promise to support amnesty for illegal aliens and vote to advance free trade at all costs. In a memo to its staff, the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity (AFP) organization announced that the economic libertarian group is set to back any elected official in Washington, DC, — including Democrats — who support their agenda of amnesty for illegal aliens and endless free trade, and oppose the GOP voter-preferred economic nationalist agenda of less immigration and tariffs to protect American jobs. The...

Senate Republicans say President Trump should postpone tariffs set to be imposed on Mexican exports Monday, and allow more time for negotiators to reach a deal. The senators say further negotiations could help prevent an escalating trade fight they say would damage the U.S. economy. “We have a lot of people who don’t want to see this go into effect next week,” said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.).

Both GOP senators from Texas are joining other republicans in breaking ranks with the president over a tariff threat to Mexico. Senator Ted Cruz says it is a game of chicken on who will blink first. “I understand that the president is frustrated with congressional democrats refusing to do their job,” Cruz said. “That being said, this is the wrong solution to the crisis.”

Seven House Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues Tuesday in voting for legislation that would grant permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for more than 2 million undocumented immigrants. The American Dream and Promise Act grants amnesty to more than 1 million immigrants brought to the country illegally when they were under the age of 18, including roughly 700,000 migrants shielded from deportation by then-president Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive action. The bill also applies to the hundreds of thousands of migrants admitted to the country under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is intended for those...

Only 11 individuals have been prosecuted for knowingly hiring illegal aliens in the past year - No individuals have been prosecuted in the past two months, and no companies were prosecuted in the last year - Earlier studies put the total number of undocumented aliens at around 11 million. However, more recent studies, such as the one published by Yale in 2018, places the number closer to 22 million.

For months the liberal media mocked “We Build the Wall” founder and organizer Brian Kolfage and his plan to use private donations to help build the much-needed security wall between the US and Mexico. Brian raised over $20 million in private donations from over 260,000 individuals to build a border wall on the US southern border.... The section of wall “We Build the Wall” focused on closes a half mile gap that existed for years between the end of the El Paso, Texas border wall and Mount Cristo Rey. The gap is across from the Mexican city of Juarez. Currently,...

NM Governor Who Left Border Open over Trump’s “Charade of Fear-Mongering” — Sees Illegals Flood Across Border, Then Buses Them to Denver.. ( Full title).. ... New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham withdrew 118 National Guard troops from New Mexico’s southern boundary with Mexico. ... Now the New Mexico border is being overrun by the drug cartels following the governor’s brilliant plan to remove troops from its southern border. ... The flood of illegals is too much for New Mexico to handle so now the liberal Democrat governor is busing the illegals to Denver. ... The New Mexico governor’s office...

Eleven Americans explain how Big Tech’s cheap foreign labor cost them their livelihoods.

In April, protesters outside the nation's largest facility for unaccompanied migrant children noticed a familiar face enter the massive, fenced site in Homestead, Florida: former White House chief of staff John Kelly....It wasn't clear why he was there, but Friday, Caliburn International confirmed to CBS News that Kelly had joined its board of directors. [John Kelly was also Trump's first Secretary of Homeland Security, which is responsible for almost all immigration enforcement]

Key findings: DHS tallied 667,000 overstays in 2018, down about 5 percent from 2017. [About 50% of illegal immigrants come here legally, but do not leave when their visa expires]

The Center for Immigration Studies filed a lawsuit this week against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the agency to comply with the Center's August 13, 2018, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. CBP failed to comply with the time limit set forth in federal statute with respect to the FOIA request for information that would allow the Center to assess the potential security threat at U.S. borders.

Former President George W. Bush said Monday that the U.S. should not shy away from enforcing its borders — but he also called on Congress to set aside political acrimony and approve a broad legalization for illegal immigrants. Mr. Bush, who himself led a massive round of wall-building beginning in 2006, did not specifically praise or attack President Trump, who is now engaged in another wall fight. But the former president did say Congress should again attempt to tackle “comprehensive immigration reform.” That’s the name backers use for bills offering amnesty from deportation to millions of illegal immigrants. Mr. Bush...

Though President Trump said he would block money transfers to Mexico to fund a much-needed border wall, Mexicans in the U.S. sent a record $33.48 billion in remittances last year and a big chunk of it flowed through a government program operated by the Federal Reserve....Uncle Sam facilitates the process with a program called "Directo a Mexico" (Direct to Mexico), launched by the Federal Reserve, the government agency that serves as the nation’s central bank, more than a decade ago. President George W. Bush came up with the idea....

FY 2018's total admissions of 22,491 refugees are the lowest number since the beginning of the resettlement program....Despite lower admissions, the USA resettled more refugees [total 56,000] than any other nation in both 2017 and 2018, remaining the top country for refugee resettlement.