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Mexican military officials said they rescued 189 undocumented immigrants from a Reynosa stash house during a Sunday night raid. An anonymous tip reportedly led authorities to a home off Calles Doctor Plata and Rio Purificacion in the Colonia Doctores. Mexico's El Universal newspaper reported that officials found 157 men and 32 women inside the house around 11 p.m. Sunday. The newspaper said the immigrants were all from Brazil and Central America. Many of the immigrants told investigators reported that had paid as much of $1,500 to be smuggled into the United States. El Universal reported that it took some of...

Border communities from Tucson, Ariz. to Brownsville on Saturday will celebrate the end of Michael Chertoff's term as Homeland Security Secretary with piñatas, music and a retirement cake. There's only one catch: Chertoff isn't invited. Some of the secretary's most vocal critics will gather at Brownsville's Galeria 409, just a few yards from where the fence will be constructed, to commemorate what they consider Chertoff's disastrous tenure. "This is not a protest disguised as a party - this is a party," said Scott Nicol, of the No Border Wall Coalition. "Chertoff has only been secretary for three years but he...

SIERRA VISTA — An illegal immigrant with ties to a Chicago street gang was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol Agents at the Willcox Station on Jan. 3. The 26-year-old male, whose name was not released, was identified as an active member of the violent Chicago street gang Spanish Gangster Disciples, Drake and Lawrence Faction, a press release stated. Border Patrol Agent Mike Scioli said the gang tries to unite all Latinos in Chicago and has ties with Mexican Mafia, the most notorious and largest gang with more than 800,000 members. Scioli said the immigrant had symbols of the gang on...

Brownsville native Lupita Ortiz started the New Year with four strikes against her. And for a fifth time, Ortiz faces charges stemming from the transport of undocumented immigrants. The 25-year-old woman is being held without bond under custody of the U.S. Marshal's Service. Ortiz pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle in federal court in Brownsville to transporting an undocumented immigrant in November 2008. As part of her plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, a second charge of inducing an undocumented immigrant to enter the United States was dismissed. Ortiz's sentencing is slated for April 7....

3 native Mexicans died in wrong-way driving RALEIGH -- Francisco Martinez's decision to drive drunk and head the wrong way on Raleigh's Inner Beltline ended up costing the lives of three fellow Mexican immigrants headed home on the same road. On Monday, Martinez, 30, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and two counts of felony injury by vehicle. He could have faced 125 years in prison, if given the maximum on all charges, but Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand consolidated the sentences as part of a plea agreement. All three who died in the May 25 wreck originally...

Saturday 1/3/09 El Universal (Mexico City) 1/3/09 Four people were murdered Friday evening in separate incidents in Tijuana and Rosarito, Baja California. One of those killed by gunfire was a police officer. Bodies of two other victims were found burning in a car. Another died when armed men burst into a gambling hall, shooting. —– The seasonal increase of Mexican citizens returning home for the Christmas holidays appears normal, according to Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations (SRE). However, the department lacks specific data to indicate the number returning permanently due to the economic or enforcement climate in the US. —–...

With more than a dozen bills on the issue already filed, immigration promises to be a hot topic during this year's state legislative session. And Houston lawmakers are sure to be key players on both sides. The battle is part of a growing effort by state legislatures across the nation to tackle contentious issues related to immigration. "It's definitely going to be an issue," said state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston. But Gallegos said the proposed legislation, filed mostly by Republican lawmakers, will be scrutinized — and perhaps scrubbed — by Hispanic legislators to ensure that bills are not aimed only...

Issue hardly earned mention during presidential campaign There were no mass protests on the streets of North County or heated congressional hearings in Washington, but that doesn't mean the perennially controversial subject of illegal immigration did not grab headlines here and at the national level in 2008. Local immigrant rights activists criticized driver's license checkpoints as traps in Escondido. The San Diego Minutemen, a North County-based anti-illegal immigration group, successfully sued the state to keep its name on a highway sign. And immigrant workers weathered an economic storm that has led some to think hard about going home for good....

A massive earth-moving project is transforming Smuggler's Gulch near San Diego from a narrow canyon used by cattle thieves, bandits and illegal immigrants into a plugged breach. Reporting from San Diego -- Smuggler's Gulch lived up to its infamous name. For a century, the narrow canyon leading into California from Mexico provided cover for cattle thieves and opium dealers, bandits and booze runners. More recently, it has hidden thousands of illegal immigrants on their journey north, sealing its place in border lore. Now, it's a fading memory. The canyon has been all but wiped off the landscape, its steep walls...

Millions of Californians with limited English proficiency now have the right to an interpreter from their commercial health and dental plans – made possible by a first-in-the-nation law aimed at dismantling the language barriers that get in the way of good medicine. The new regulation – implemented New Year's Day after five years of hearings, delays and wrangling among insurance companies, regulators and consumer advocates – is widely hailed as a milestone in reducing mistakes because of miscommunication. "This is really huge, especially in California where we're getting more and more diverse," said Martin Martinez, policy director for the California...

Panel suggests N.J. consider driving privileges for undocumented immigrants by The Associated Press Sunday January 04, 2009, 3:09 PM [Trenton, NJ] - A panel advising Gov. Jon Corzine on immigrant issues is considering recommending the state allow undocumented immigrants "driver privilege cards" and in-state college tuition rates. Two Hispanic leaders told the Record that the state's public advocate, Ron Chen, told them the measures would be included in a panel's report to Corzine. But a spokeswoman for Chen told the newspaper that it hasn't been decided what would be included in the report. The "driver privilege cards" and in-state tuition...

(CNSNews.com) - Former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, who is running for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, told CNSNews.com in an interview that he hopes to revitalize the grassroots of the party in all 50 states. A longtime conservative activist, Blackwell served as mayor of Cincinnati as well as Ohio state treasurer and secretary of state of Ohio. He was the first African American to win statewide executive office in Ohio, and, in 2006, was the first African American to be a major party-candidate for governor in that state. He is currently a senior fellow at the...

Britain must set a maximum population level if it is to avoid destroying the environment and putting national security at risk, say experts. The Optimum Population Trust has written to ministers calling for a policy of 'zero net migration' - matching numbers allowed into Britain each year to numbers leaving. The UK's population is projected to increase from 60 to 70million over the next 20 years, and to 85million by 2081. The trust, a panel of academics and environmentalists, says achieving zero net migration would cut Britain's population in 2081 to 57million. Mass immigration 'feeds through into rising greenhouse gas...

The California Supreme Court will hear a case on the legality of granting in-state tuition to illegal aliens attending public colleges, potentially setting a national precedent for nine other states that allow the same discount. Just before Christmas, the California court announced it would hear the case of Martinez v. Regents of University of California. The plaintiffs in the class action--42 students from 19 different states attending public colleges in California--contend the state violated federal law by making them pay higher tuition than other non-California residents who got a tuition break. The lawsuit could require compensation for every out-of state...

During the coming year, the BCSO will continue our determined policy of identifying and dealing with all those in our community who break the law, including those who turn out to be here illegally. Every person who is arrested for a crime in Bradley County is checked for citizenship or legal status. If this cannot be verified through our Criminal Alien Program (CAP), they are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. The message is, Bradley County is not a sanctuary for anyone attempting to bypass or subvert our immigration laws. The year 2008 is the first...

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! Sundays - 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 - Phoenix "If You Ain't Mad, You Ain't Payin' Attention!" Call-In Number - (866) 870-5752 Don't miss Terry's January 4th show with guest... PATTY COMPEAN - Wife of the imprisoned Border Patrol agent Jose Compean Can you guess WHO the most Horriblest Clown of the Week is? Listen to Terry online ... http://krla870.townhall.com/ http://www.republicbroadcasting.org/index.php?cmd=listenlive

California Rep. Joe Baca has long pushed legislation he said would "open the doors to the American Dream" for first-time home buyers in his largely Hispanic district. For many of them, those doors have slammed shut, quickly and painfully. Mortgage lenders flooded Mr. Baca's San Bernardino, Calif., district with loans that often didn't require down payments, solid credit ratings or documentation of employment. Now, many of the Hispanics who became homeowners find themselves mired in the national housing mess. Nearly 9,200 families in his district have lost their homes to foreclosure. Congressional districts with large Hispanic populations often feature heavy...

DANA POINT – Three groups clashed in verbal protest over immigration as they lined the streets of Doheny Park Road in Capistrano Beach Saturday. Members of the anti-illegal immigration Minuteman Project demonstrated with flags in a group of more than 20 at an informal day laborer pick-up site near Ganahl Lumber. About a dozen day workers at the site then moved north along the road to get work while trying to steer clear of the antagonistic shouting between flag-waving Minutemen and about five anti-Minutemen protesters.

I want to call your attention to a statewide initiative in California that may change the debate on the automatic citizenship that is wrongly bestowed upon children born to illegal aliens and foreign visitors in the United States. The initiative—The California Taxpayer Protection Act—is being planned for the June 2010 California ballot. This may seem like a distant point on the horizon, but it’s really not when you consider the herculean efforts necessary to secure a spot on the ballot in the state. Supporters are being sought from across the nation for this important initiative. Initiative Background The initiative is...

Though he has lived with his family for two years at The Meadows, an apartment complex in Dillon Valley, Rafael is desperately looking for a new home. Rafael, 25, who asked not to reveal his last name because he is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, said he will not be able to pay what the new owners are asking to renew his lease for the two-bedroom apartment — $1,250 instead of the $950 he pays now. “We are going to wait until the lease expires in March, and we’ll go to another place,” said Rafael, who works painting houses. “We’re...

An Open Letter To Mexican President Felipe Calderon Dear President Calderon: As you are no doubt aware, America the Great is quickly becoming America the Gray. The so-called "boomer" generation, comprised of approximately 40 million Americans, will soon reach retirement age. As they age, America's boomers yearn for a less frantic pace---and a lifestyle that allows one to pause and smell the roses now and again. In other words, boomers are looking for the "Good Life" which is supposed to accrue to those who work 45 years, pay ungodly amounts in taxes, raise a family, put children through college, and...

I am amased that the news on new years day celebrates the first born of the new year has illegal immigrants for parents, payment to hospital goes to you and i the taxpayers of houston tx.Reporters would not even comment on parents or let them speak im sure because no englishhhh.

PREACHER of hate Omar Bakri is boldly going where no imam has gone before — ordering followers to convert ALIENS to Islam. Bakri, acting like a character from sci-fi film Mars Attacks, said Muslims must not only spread the word worldwide but also across the galaxy. Bakri, 50, declared: “We are obliged as Muslims to make the whole galaxy subservient to almighty Allah. Allah has created all living beings in order to obey him and worship him.” Last night a security source quipped: “Perhaps he could show his people the way — it would give everyone a break if he...

Woman suspects shooting, sexual assault tied to her activism on illegal immigration EVERETT -- First a north Everett man was seriously wounded when a narrow-faced stranger burst into his home Dec. 22 and began shooting. On Monday night, while the shooting victim was still in the hospital, his wife called police to report that a trio of intruders had just ambushed her in her kitchen. She was beaten, sexually assaulted and slashed on the back of her neck with a knife, she told officers. Everett police acknowledge they aren't quite sure what to make of the violent events recently reported...

From the Insane-Muslims-Say-The-Darnedest-things File: Notorious radical Islamic cleric and father-of-the-year candidate Omar Bakri ranted today about the need to be ready to convert aliens to Islam, should they appear in our midst. The 50 year old Al-Muhajiroun leader declared, “We are obliged as Muslims to make the whole galaxy subservient to almighty Allah. Allah has created all living beings in order to obey him and worship him.”

White families on the country's poorest estates believe they have been 'betrayed' and 'abandoned' by politicians who favour newly-arrived immigrants, a Government report acknowledged today. It found that people on council estates think they always come second to immigrants for housing and benefits. Many feel they have been shoved aside by politicians who use political correctness and allegations of racism to stifle honest discussion, it said. The report for the Department of Communities and Local Government drew an admission from Communities Secretary Hazel Blears that white working class people 'sometimes just don't feel anyone is listening or speaking up for...

illegal immigration during the 2008 presidential campaign because open discussion would “alienate” swing (read: Hispanic) voters. Is it okay now or do we only get permission when the next major open-borders disaster strikes? My syndicated column today (see below) surveys the state of the borders — particularly the bloody chaos to our south. On a related note, a new piece by the Associated Press (yes, a surprise) reports more extensively on illegal aliens in public housing. It was a problem highlighted by Barack Obama’s illegal alien aunti Zeituni Onyango (who still remains on the loose after years of evading her...

We can't afford an amnesty - it would cost too much. Applying a conservative estimate of the per-person processing cost from the 1986 amnesty, unadjusted for inflation, it would cost about $2,500,000,000 (two billion, five-hundred million dollars) to process ten million illegal aliens. What else could we do with that money that would be worthwhile for the country? There is a huge push on the part of the current administration, the Senate, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, many industrial and growers' organizations, many unions, and the Mexican government (yes, they very much want us to have one) to grant amnesty...

RYE — Republican presidential candidate John McCain told a local audience that he supports continued efforts against terrorism and global climate change. McCain made his remarks at the home of Rye resident Bill Gilmore in front of more than 100 people. After being introduced by Gilmore and Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays, McCain talked about the adoption of green technologies as a key for future generations of American citizens. "If we adopt green technologies ... all we've done is leave our children a cleaner planet," McCain said, citing ethanol, hydrogen and nuclear power as possible alternative energy sources. . . ....

In a visit to Southern Arizona recently, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said her major priorities in the new two-year term are solar energy, immigration reform and providing support to the military troops and veterans. Continuing to promote renewable energy, Giffords said she would focus on solar power. "We have eight years to make Arizona a national leader in solar industry. We have the sun, we have the land and we have the infrastructure, and now all we have to do is make it happen," she said. When it comes to immigration reform, Giffords said she has already spoken to Republican Arizona...

Campo Minutemen have been monitoring the trails the illegal border crossers use to meet their pick ups. From Campo, they move west and north. The trails run west to avoid the Border Patrol check point on the 8 Freeway. The Campo Minutemen have reported numerous pick ups in progress, and have encountered some under cover Border Patrol Agents.

No one knows how many thousands of illegal immigrants live in public housing at a time when hundreds of thousands of citizens and legal residents are stuck waiting years for a spot. The issue made headlines in November with news that an aunt of President-elect Barack Obama was living in Boston public housing while in the country illegally. At last word, that woman's attorney said she was staying with relatives in Cleveland and would fight a deportation order.

The time is not ripe for reform, and should be used to improve enforcement against illegals. If Janet Napolitano had her way, the nominee to head Homeland Security would take a two-track approach to solving America's illegal immigration problem. Enforcement, yes, says the Arizona governor, and also immigration "reform." She's unlikely to get her way – but she can turn that into a plus. To push border and employer enforcement while also changing laws to accommodate new temporary workers and absorb illegal aliens already here, Governor Napolitano would need the cooperation of Congress. The prospect of that happening anytime soon...

<p>More than 50,000 Hispanics in North Carolina will not be able to renew their driver's licenses in 2009 and could face deportation thanks to the state's eight separate programs aimed at detecting undocumented immigrants.</p> <p>From Jan. 1, 2002, to Aug. 28, 2006, North Carolina permitted the use of a taxpayer identification number, an ITIN or W-7, so that residents lacking a Social Security number could apply for a driver's license.</p>

Two were killed and three are in the hospital There were 18 people in a pickup that crashed early Monday east of Mathis, killing two men from Honduras, officials said Tuesday. The medical examiner's office Tuesday identified the men as Elder Arely Obando Ramos, 30, and Homero Humberto Rosales Gutierrez. The medical examiner's office determined they both died of blunt-force trauma to the head caused by the accident. Ramos also was believed to have suffered blunt-force trauma to the chest. Authorities Tuesday had not determined Gutierrez's age. All of the people in the pickup were undocumented immigrants from El Salvador,...

Man claims he was illegally deported twice A Venezuelan is seeking $1 million in damages from the United States and a stream of federal officials after he claims he was illegally deported twice to his native country where he fears for his life. This is gleaned from a lawsuit that Garrinzon Gonzalez filed in federal court in Brownsville Dec. 22 claiming that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and immigration deportation officers at the Willacy County Detention Center violated his civil rights. Immigration officials contacted by The Brownsville Herald declined to comment. Attorney Jodilynn Marie Goodwin of Harlingen represents Gonzalez....

... [T]he expanded border agency is now 54 percent minority. Hispanics [...] comprise 52 percent of the agents. Since the Bush administration mandated hiring 6,000 new agents to boost the force to 18,000 by the end of this year, the ranks of Hispanic agents have mushroomed. The roughly 6,400 Hispanic agents on duty in 2006 increased 45 percent to about 9,300 last month. ... But there are some concerns about thousands of new agents enforcing laws in the same communities where they have strong family ties, some that extend across the border. ''The problem I think that will come up...

To save money, Gov. Chris Gregoire wants illegal aliens serving time in state prisons deported. Her proposal estimates that deporting illegal aliens - who are serving or would serve time for drug or property crime convictions - will save the state more than $9 million in the next two-year budget. The state faces a $5.7 billion budget deficit over the next 2 1/2 years, and Gregoire has proposed a no new-taxes budget proposal laden with cuts, including about $200 million from the Department of Corrections, the attorney general's office, and other public safety programs. The deportation proposal is modeled after...

Foreign News Report El Universal (Mexico City) 12/30/08 Mexican soldiers arrested an important leader of the drug cartel called La Familia. The Army, working in a secret investigation with Mexico's drug enforcement agency (SIEDO) and judicial authorities, captured "at least" three members of the cartel, one of them Nazario "El Chayo" Moreno Gonzalez, considered to be third in line of command of the criminal organization. La Familia operates in at least six states in the central and south of the country, having its headquarters in Michoacán. The arrests were made in Morelos, the capital city of that state. —— The...

President-elect Obama will likely make several tough decisions on immigration policy during his first few months in office, even if he postpones wide-ranging reform until later in his first term. Obama will be under pressure from interest groups to review or drop several administrative policies aimed at curbing illegal immigration, which President Bush enacted after he failed in 2007 to persuade lawmakers to pass broad legislation that would have put millions of immigrants on a path to citizenship. “I think immigration is shaping up to be an issue that he is going to face a consensus of pressure,” said Ali...

Obamas may come out of woodwork: Just days before the election, the media focused briefly on the news that Barack Obama's paternal aunt was living illegally in public housing in Boston. While the story didn’t get much traction, it offered a glimpse of things to come: With the spotlight shining so hard on the next president, distant family members are likely to get caught up in the glare. The Obama family tree, by contrast, is a veritable ancestral Banyan, with roots and branches extending to four continents. There are many half-siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. That means there may be...

Quoted Update Foreign-Worker Arrivals Continue as Jobless Claims Rise to 26-Year High Wednesday, December 24, 2008, 10:12 AM The United States will import another 140,000 foreign workers this month despite worsening jobless numbers. Initial jobless claims were at 586,000 last week, which is 30,000 more than the prior week's claims. The number was the highest since November 1982, and the four-week moving claims average is also at its highest level since 1982. The nation’s counterproductive immigration policies make the situation even harder to fix.With the new numbers, job losses for the year are expected to exceed two million. In...

SAN DIEGO — A Mexican national with a history of immigration violations and arrests has been taken into custody as a suspect in a series of sexual assaults, authorities said Tuesday. Carlos Ceron Salazar, 30, was booked into jail Monday in San Diego on suspicion of assault with intention to commit rape, mayhem and sexual battery in connection with an attack in December 2006 on a woman jogging at Miramar Lake, San Diego police said. The woman told officers at the time that she was running about 12:30 p.m. when a man grabbed her around the neck and forced her...

Over at change.gov, Obama wants people to submit questions that he'll be asked, and then others can vote the questions up or down a la Digg. I submitted five questions involving immigration matters, and all of them are probably tougher than anything else you'll find there. If you want Obama to be asked a real question for a change, please do the following: 1. Go to change.gov/openforquestions and sign up (it only takes a few seconds). 2. Search for tuition illegal. 3. Click my name - 24AheadDotCom - to see all five questions. 4. Vote those questions up. Here's the...

The five-year terror threat report that appeared in the news on December 25th should not be mistaken for a Christmas present. The report provides ample evidence that our government has been making decisions and taking actions that, as I have noted for many years now, represent lunacy by those whose sworn duty is protect our nation, our citizens and our way of life. Our nation's security is jeopardized by the Visa Waiver Program, and I have provided congressional testimony about the tremendous risks posed by immigration benefit fraud. Now consider the passages from the December 25th news article that details...

I was born and raised in Chicago and have resided on the northside ..most of the time in the Illinois 5th Congresional district. Rod Blagojevich and Rahm Emmanuel have BOTH been my congressmen. Now because Rahm has announced that he is leaving and a special election will take place, I am considering throwing my name in for the special election. After all I reside here! Many of the Life-long Politicians who want the seat are just that, Life long politicians looking for another job. So I am asking FReepers far and wide to put on their think caps and help...

A Mexican citizen and former Houston gang member was deported to his native country Monday to answer murder charges in connection with the deaths of two women during a robbery earlier this year. Carlos Garcia-Hernandez, 19, was turned over to Mexican officials on the Brownsville International Bridge. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Garcia-Hernandez was a member of the "Houstone" street gang. He was arrested Dec. 11 after ICE received word that Mexican authorities were seeking him. The homicides were committed during a robbery in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in March. Three other individuals involved in the killings already are serving...

Did anyone else, aroung 21:29 EST seea HUGE shooting star,heading from the East, going East to South East in the sky in the New England Sky???

Why does this mean every time I indicate something, I get Thank you for your contribution. Your article has been submitted for review. Does this also include like you have mail from another member the contents of any -e-mail will be read and Thank you for your contribution. Your e-mail has been submitted for review.Does this also mean Thank you for logging in Your password has been submitted for review.Does this mean Thank you for your contribution. Your e-mail account has been submitted for review by whom ? Are the folks who posted in This thread has been locked, it...

This is interesting. Could be fun, too. An email came from “John Podesta”..for the Barak Obama transition team requesting ‘input’ and questions on various issues. Since ‘immigration’ isn’t on the list, I checked the prior questions they’ve gotten. Please! Tell them what you think! http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions20081229/ Some of the questions the Obama team is reading: “How soon will you recommend that the border fence be completed? I know that I would be more amenable to discuss immigration reform once the fence is built to keep out illegals AND terrorists.” Jim, Long Beach CA “”When should we expect a comprehensive immigration reform...