Free Republic

Immigration: The president tells a border state U.S. senator that if we beef up border protection Democrats will lose the bargaining chip for comprehensive immigration reform. Forget national sovereignty — sue Arizona! As the Obama administration prepares to sue the state of Arizona to block its copycat enforcement of federal immigration law, Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl reveals that in a private meeting President Obama put his party's agenda above the nation's sovereignty. Last Friday, Kyl told the audience at a North Tempe Tea Party town hall meeting: "I met with the president in the Oval Office (regarding securing the...

Security: After letting Mexico's president trash Arizona's immigration law and his immigration enforcement chief say he won't enforce it, the president wants to send a token National Guard contingent to the border. There's something disingenuous about the president's plan to deploy 1,200 National Guard troops to the Arizona border to help the Border Patrol catch illegal aliens. His director of immigration and customs enforcement, John Morton, has said he might not enforce immigration crimes reported by Arizona officials, though the state's new law merely copies federal law. Morton is director of ICE, not chief justice of the Supreme Court. He...

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...

Immigration: Arizona moves to protect its citizens from a raging border war, and the administration and its activist supporters cry racism. Why is antelope protection more important than protecting American lives?

The current debate in Arizona over illegal immigration, fueled by a new law that will make it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in the state, will propel the drive to unseat long-time senator and former presidential candidate John McCain, his Republican primary challenger predicted on Monday. J.D. Hayworth, who plans to submit a petition with 11,000 signatures later on Monday to get his name on the ballot for the Aug. 24 Republican primary for the Arizona Senate seat, said "the momentum is on my side." "Arizonans are telling John McCain, 'Thank you for your service, but it is...

PHOENIX -- Sen. John McCain said the federal government has only itself to blame for Arizona's tough new proposals on immigration enforcement, now awaiting Gov. Jan Brewer's signature. "The state of Arizona is acting and doing what it feels it needs to do in light of the fact that the federal government is not fulfilling its fundamental responsibility -- to secure our borders," McCain said Monday during an appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News.

Arizona Daily Star This image provided Wednesday by the Cochise County Sheriff's Department shows Alejandro Chavez-Vasquez, who has been identified as a person of interest in several burglaries near Portal. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a person of interest in connection with several burglaries that took place this year in the Portal area in Southeastern Arizona. They are looking for Alejandro Chavez-Vasquez, who has given authorities various birth dates and lives in Agua Prieta, Mexico. Officials say he has a criminal history with convictions that include sex crimes, auto theft and being an aggravated deported illegal...

Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl have joined with others requesting troops on the border by unveiling a security plan that calls for more soldiers, federal agents, fencing and funding to help Arizona combat illegal immigration and drug smuggling. The Republican lawmakers called for the deployment of 3,000 National Guard soldiers to Arizona's international border as part of their 10-step border plan unveiled Monday in Washington, D.C. The senators also asked for troops in April 2009. The March 27 killing of Cochise County rancher Robert Krentz has set off a flurry of requests for troops to the border, from the...

(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...

(snip) The Tucson paper's editorial board noted that he represents a border state affected by Washington's inaction. "Yes. Yes. I do. But so does the senator from New Mexico and the senators from California and all the border states all along. But it seems to me that the proposal should come, it's the obligation of the president of the United States to come forward with what he thinks is a proposal and then maybe we can all work together and get it resolved," he said. "So what have I done?" he added. "Not enough."Still, McCain said he expects to hold...

PHOENIX (AP) — Cattle rancher Rob Krentz often helped illegal immigrants he found stranded on his sprawling Arizona ranch. Then two weeks ago, he and his dog were gunned down shortly after he reported spotting someone who appeared to be in trouble. Foot tracks were followed from the shooting scene about 20 miles south, to the Mexico border, and authorities suspect an illegal immigrant. The killing of the third-generation rancher has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate as politicians cite the episode as further proof that the U.S. must do more to secure the violent U.S.-Mexico border. (snip) Krentz's...

McCAIN: My view is you need a physical fence. But we all know that unless physical fences are surveilled, and then people just punch holes in them. And so I saw in Iraq on my visit there that their ability to serveil areas is that we have the technology now. (snip) McCAIN: After the border is secured, then obviously we have to address the issue of the 12 million people who are still in this country illegally. I don't know what ... American public opinion will take. But one of the key elements, as was in our previous legislation, is...

Illegal Immigration: An Arizona rancher is murdered while patrolling his ranch. A gaping hole in the border fence and footsteps back to Mexico tell the tale. When will we put the National Guard back on the border? Robert N. Krentz Jr., 58, scion of one of the best-known and oldest ranching families in southeast Arizona, was found shot to death March 27 on his vast, remote ranch after radioing to his brother that he was checking out someone he believed to be an illegal immigrant. Krentz was found slumped over his ATV on his 35,000-acre ranch about 35 miles northeast...

U.S. Sen. John McCain is blasting his challenger J.D. Hayworth, saying he’s mischaracterized his record to score political points in the wake of the murder of a Douglas rancher over the weekend. Former Congressman Hayworth is blasting back, meanwhile, saying McCain’s record on immigration is out of step with what Arizona wants. Speaking on a Phoenix broadcast station about the case of Robert Krentz, who was believed to have been shot and killed by an illegal immigrant, Hayworth said he has long advocated for a military presence on the border while McCain worked on an “amnesty bill” with former U.S....

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which posted hundreds of civilian volunteers along the U.S.-Mexico border over the past five years, has disbanded, citing what it called "rising aggression" in the country and decisions by lawmakers in Washington who have "pushed amnesty down our throats." "The mental attitude of many Americans is turning meaner … and we are concerned that this could cause problems," MCDC President Carmen Mercer told The Washington Times on Monday. "You see aggression surfacing even at the tea party marches. We just did not want to deal with the liability anymore. "We have to protect the ranchers...