Free Republic

With the midterm elections just days away, there’s little indication that California is seeing a “blue wave” of Democratic votes, at least in the early returns of vote-by-mail ballots — and in some key races that will help determine control of the House, Republican voter response has been strong. There are still a lot more ballots to come in, cautioned Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., which supplies voter information to a variety of political campaigns. But so far, according to a mail ballot tracker he runs, Republican votes are keeping pace with the number of Democratic ballots....

A Sikh man says he was attacked and told to “go back to [his] country” in an incident that police in California are investigating as a hate crime.Surjit Malhi, 50, told Sacramento’s CBS13 that he was beaten last week by two men, who also allegedly spray-painted his truck with hate symbols, while he was posting campaign signs in support of Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) in Stanislaus County.Malhi told the CBS affiliate that the men threw sand in his eyes and brutally beat him in the head, shoulders and neck, while shouting: “Go back to your country!”“It’s very scary, you know,”...

The discharge-petition amnesty — and the resulting furious splits within the GOP — was planned and triggered by a Californian Democratic legislator, according to a nugget buried in a Politico report. The article gives the credit to Democrat Rep. Pete Aguilar for creating the discharge petition fight, which wasted two months of time needed by the GOP’s leadership, and which gave the establishment media two months to produce handwringing articles and videos about ‘DACA’ illegals, GOP splits, conservative “hardliners,” and backroom negotiations. Author Rachel Bade wrote in the 11th paragraph: [GOP Rep. Jeff] Denham was walking back to his congressional...

Washington (CNN) - Sen. John McCain said Saturday that he supports an effort in the House of Representatives to force a vote on an immigration bill. "I strongly support the bipartisan effort in the House to file a discharge petition to reopen the debate on immigration reform and bring up our #USAAct for a vote," the Arizona Republican wrote in a tweet. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Will Hurd of Texas, Jeff Denham of California and and Carlos Curbelo of Florida, introduced the Uniting and Securing America Act in January. The bill would shield undocumented immigrants brought...

WASHINGTON - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday warned a small group of his fellow Republicans against forcing a floor debate on four separate bills that would protect young illegal immigrants from deportation, saying doing so would be a “big mistake.” Instead, Ryan said he was working with the White House on a singular bill that would win President Donald Trump’s support.

A Republican congressman said Tuesday he’s rounded up enough GOP co-sponsors to force multiple immigration votes on the House floor. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) told The Hill that he has secured support from more than 40 House Republicans on a resolution that would allow debate and votes on four separate immigration proposals. Etc...

Democrats shouted "Shame! Shame!," but seven Republicans switched their votes and defeated a measure to protect gay rights. The final vote was 213-212 after the chaos on the House floor. That was enough to defeat an amendment by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., aimed at upholding an executive order that bars discrimination against LGBT employees by federal contractors. Maloney and other Democrats were incensed. "They literally snatched discrimination from the jaws of equality," Maloney said. He said he had approached Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as McCarthy worked on GOP colleagues to vote against the measure. McCarthy told Maloney to...

As House Republican leaders prepare to unveil their plan for immigration reform, addressing the undocumented population remains the thorniest issue. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the GOP's framework will call for a path to legal status for many of the 11.7 million immigrants living here without papers. But the document specifically opposes a "special pathway to citizenship," except for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

Republican Rep. David Valadao says he’s not worried that Congress’ failure to pass immigration legislation will hurt his prospects for re-election to a district in California’s agricultural heartland. Same goes for GOP Rep. Jeff Denham, who represents a neighboring district in the state’s San Joaquin Valley. Still, the California congressmen are making sure voters know they support an immigration overhaul. They’re aware that Democrats will try to turn the congressional gridlock into an advantage during this year’s midterm elections. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $300,000 on television ads in Valadao’s district, noting that he is the son of immigrants....

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor changed direction entirely Friday, saying through a spokesman that he doesn’t plan to allow any amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would grant amnesty to illegal aliens through the ENLIST Act. “No proposed ENLIST amendments to NDAA will be made in order,” Cantor spokesman Doug Heye said in an email to Breitbart News. The statement represents a complete turnaround for Cantor, who just a couple weeks ago was the leading and most powerful force behind the effort to insert a version of Rep. Jeff Denham’s ENLIST Act into the NDAA bill. Denham’s...

Proof that the GOP’s terrified of an immigration backlash from the right in November? Or proof that Eric Cantor in particular is terrified of losing his primary? I’ll accept “both” as an answer. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will block attempts next week to include a measure on a must-pass defense policy bill that would legalize young undocumented immigrants who serve in the military. A spokesman confirmed Friday that the legislation, known as the Enlist Act, will not be among those debated with the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that sets policy for the Pentagon. Rep. Jeff Denham...

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and arguably the leading intellectual force against amnesty in Congress, is coming out hard against a proposal backed by Majority Leader Eric Cantor to grant amnesty to illegal alien DREAMers who enlist in the military. “We are now in a period of very large troop reductions. The last thing this nation should be doing is to provide those few slots to persons who illegally entered the United States or who overstayed their visas while denying young Americans the ability to serve their country,” Sessions said in a written...

Democrats are holding out hope that their discharge petition on a comprehensive immigration overhaul bill can still work — or at least be used as election-year ammo. House Democrats held a conference call Tuesday to announce their intention to distribute a memo in the districts of 30 House Republicans who have signaled support for an immigration overhaul previously. Democrats are calling on these Republicans, and others, to “put their pen where their mouth is,” as Colorado Democrat Jared Polis put it, and sign the discharge petition for HR 15, the companion bill to the Senate-passed immigration bill. The discharge petition...

The Threat of Cheap Denham: Don’t be fooled by press accounts that downplay the significance of Rep. Jeff Denham’s attempt to add something called the ENLIST Act to the defense authorization (NDAA) bill. It’s a significant push for a substantial immigration amnesty, and it has a good chance of succeeding. Opponents of an “Amnesty First” approach to immigration should be worried. Here’s why: – On the surface, it looks like Denham’s amendment would give amnesty only to an almost comically appealing group of illegal immigrants: “DREAMers” who were brought to this country when they were young and who also serve...

South Carolina Republican Rep. Jeff Duncan is dropping his co-sponsorship of an immigration bill House Republicans have been quietly working to include in the upcoming Department of Defense authorization bill, saying the language should never have been considered to be added to the unrelated measure. Late Wednesday, Duncan said he hadn't been aware of efforts by the bill's author, California Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), to add the language to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – and that if it were added, “NDAA would lose my vote as well.” At issue is a proposal to allow so-called DREAMers to obtain...

The head of the House Armed Services Committee dealt another blow to immigration reform efforts in the Republican-controlled House on Friday by deciding not to include in this year's defense policy bill GOP-written proposals that would permit undocumented immigrants to become legal U.S. residents if they serve in the military. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) speaks during a recent subcommittee hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) speaks during a recent subcommittee hearing. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) The decision could cause considerable political trouble for Reps. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and other Republicans who represent districts with growing...

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says a proposal to allow illegal aliens to receive permanent legal residency by enlisting in the military won't be in the underlying text of a must-pass defense bill, dealing a serious blow to a push to enact the immigration measure. “I do not intend to include the ‘ENLIST’ Act in the proposed National Defense Authorization Act that I will submit to the Armed Services Committee next month. I have reached this conclusion without regard to my views on the underlying policy, but because I do not believe that the Chairman’s mark should...

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says a proposal to allow illegal aliens to receive permanent legal residency by enlisting in the military won't be in the underlying text of a must-pass defense bill, dealing a serious blow to a push to enact the immigration measure. “I do not intend to include the ‘ENLIST’ Act in the proposed National Defense Authorization Act that I will submit to the Armed Services Committee next month. I have reached this conclusion without regard to my views on the underlying policy, but because I do not believe that the Chairman’s mark should...

Republican Rep. Jeff Denham will break with his party and back a broad immigration reform proposal supported by Democrats. The California congressman told Univision that he would become the first Republican co-sponsor of an immigration bill written by House Democrats that would bolster border security and provide a pathway to citizenship for many of the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. “Yes, I will be the first Republican coming together on this full bill dealing with all aspects of immigration,” he told Univision anchor Jorge Ramos in Spanish during an interview that will air on “Al Punto” this...

A Republican congressman from a heavily Hispanic district is breaking ranks from his party to join Democrats in an eleventh-hour push for a broad immigration overhaul before the end of the year. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) plans to sign on as the lone GOP member with 185 Democrats to co-sponsor a plan that would give millions of unauthorized immigrants the chance to attain citizenship. -snip- “I’m the first Republican,” he said in an interview. “I expect more to come on board.”