Free Republic

I understand what you are thinking. If you are watching the political process, you are probably thinking, as a sane person, that Republicans would completely ignore amnesty and focus on what’s important. After all, the country is focused on other trivial news, summer vacations, and the scandals. After August, the main fights will be over funding Obamacare, the budget, and the debt ceiling. So why on earth would Republicans push for amnesty, especially after the Senate bill has been ridiculed and repudiated? Why would they bail out Obama at his weakest moment? Why would they agree to the premise that...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)--a Republican member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” who helped write the Senate immigration bill and one of 14 Republicans who voted for the bill’s final passage--was unaware that the legislation he helped usher through the Senate allows a person to forge up to two passports without penalty. “Under the Senate immigration bill, how many passports can someone forge before it becomes a crime?” CNSNews.com asked Rubio Thursday on Capitol Hill. “How many…you can’t forge any passports,” Rubio replied. ”That’s a federal crime now.” CNSNews.com: “It’s actually a part of the bill that it’s up, that...

The immigration debate threatens to tear the Republican Party apart--not because of disagreements over the principle of immigration reform, but because of disagreements over strategy and tactics that may become insurmountable. The party leadership, believing that immigration reform will appeal to Hispanic voters, is attempting to impose its will on rank-and-file conservatives who object to current legislative proposals. The recently-passed Senate immigration bill includes provisions for border security as well as the legalization of illegal aliens. Conservatives believe, however, that legalization must be contingent on border security, since the Obama administration has a record of refusing to enforce laws it...

President Barack Obama on Tuesday conceded that an immigration overhaul cannot be achieved by his August deadline. With House Republicans searching for a way forward on the issue, the president said he was hopeful a bill could be finalized this fall—though even that goal may be overly optimistic. The president, in a series of interviews with Spanish language television stations, also reiterated his insistence that any legislation include a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally. Many House GOP lawmakers oppose the citizenship proposal, hardening the differences between the parties on the president’s top second-term...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised former President George W. Bush for the “beautiful words” on immigration voiced by the former president at a naturalization ceremony in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday. “In the beautiful words of President Bush, that he spoke about yesterday in his speech and has over time, we have to respect what immigration is to our country. I believe that it is the source of constant reinvigoration of America,” Pelosi said Thursday during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill, which can be viewed on CSPAN. “I’ve said over and over again that President Bush had...

While there are some Republicans who see undocumented immigrants – or illegal aliens – as a help to the nation’s economy for the jobs they do, there are others who believe they are a significant factor in raising unemployment, depressing wages and taking jobs from Americans. But another factor is at play in Washington’s current arguments over immigration, illegal aliens, and the Democrats’ plan for amnesty for millions – the future of the GOP. “About half or so of the [House Republican] Caucus understand we are on suicide watch over the Republican Party,” said Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, following a...

Conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly urged Republicans to come up with some “smart solutions” to the nation’s immigration and other problems or risk dealing with Hillary Clinton when she’s elected president in 2016. The Fox News commentator, responding Thursday to an email from a woman named Nettie to his show “The O’Reilly Factor,” criticized her view that the Republican-controlled House should make no concessions on anything to the Obama administration or the Democrats, the Huffington Post reported. “When Hillary Clinton is elected president in 2016, will you say the same thing, Nettie?” O’Reilly said, as the words “Immigration Battle”...

On Thursday, Public Policy Polling released its latest 2016 tracking poll of Iowa Republican voters. The results show a dramatic shift in Republican voter sentiment. Sen. Marco Rubio, who had led in previous surveys, has dropped to 5th place. Sen. Rand Paul now leads the pack in the critical first-caucus state.

Facing deep resistance among House Republicans to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally, GOP leaders are trying to muster support for a stripped-down immigration reform bill that would offer citizenship only to those brought into the country as children. The plan, which would almost certainly be a nonstarter for President Obama and Democrats who control the Senate, makes clear there will be no quick agreement on a Senate-passed bill and illustrates how wide the gap remains over fundamental immigration reform. … The proposal, pushed by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), has gained ground among Republicans....

Republican House leaders say that the most daunting obstacle to an immigration compromise is Nancy Pelosi. They worry that the minority leader may sabotage anything short of a full Senate-like comprehensive bill. Mrs. Pelosi still hasn't telegraphed her final strategy, but senior members of her caucus continue to insist that "no Democrat will vote for anything without a path to citizenship" for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. If Mrs. Pelosi urges her fellow Democrats to oppose all GOP measures that don't contain legalization and other substantial portions of the Senate bill, it could stymie any progress on...

Immigration Reform Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush …, a longtime advocate of comprehensive immigration reform, said in a statement that the Senate vote was a “strong step for meaningful immigration reform and encouraging legal immigration for those that want to contribute to a better America.” …New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has called for tighter border controls and a pathway to citizenship for legal immigrants. …Texas Gov. Rick Perry … has steadfastly opposed a border fence, saying it would take 10 to 15 years to build, cost $30 billion and wouldn’t work. …Gay Marriage In a speech in June, (Jeb) Bush...

Title only.

Everybody is focused on the centrality of immigration reform as a driver of Hispanic vote. And that’s an accurate perception to a significant degree. But over recent months we’ve seen more and more polling which shows that Hispanics aren’t voting for Democrats because of the immigration issue. They’re voting for Democrats because they turn out disproportionately to be Democrats. That might sound like word play but here’s what I mean. On issue after issue, Hispanics appear to either overwhelmingly or more than the public at large support the Democratic position. Today we had a poll showing that Hispanics overwhelmingly support...

The Adult ESL program (the English as a Second Language system) has already been described as "cobbled together with toothpicks and Band-Aids," and presently "stretched to the breaking point." Add in millions upon millions of new illegals into the system and I imagine it would blow apart. What plan do Sens. Rubio, Flake, Graham, McConnell and even McCain have for English to be taught to 15 million plus illegal aliens? Who would decide what constitutes minimum ESL proficiency? Big question... And who would decide how much time will be given to meet the required minimum ESL proficiency? Where will the...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday said that an amendment advanced by the Senate would leave the U.S. with the “most militarized border” since the fall of the Berlin Wall and pave the way for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform.

For over a year and a half, I have focused on our GOP -- its key players who are indeed our enemies, the endless steering and manipulation of the election process, and the corruption of Tea Party candidates. Rove's shenanigans are being exposed, and Marco Rubio's association with him should attract our attention, because it is marking his departure from "the people". It is important to note that he defended Rove and the American Crossroads group's project to find the most "conservative" electable candidates. In a one-on-one interview with The Brody File recently, Rubio said: "They both have a place...

Sarah Palin @SarahPalinUSA: Politicians wonder why we can't trust them? Campaign flip-flops like this and carve-out bribes in the Amnesty... http://fb.me/2IsL1uspC Palin’s tweet links to a story from TownHall.com detailing Sen. Marco Rubio’s (D-Fla.) flip-flop over amnesty for illegal immigrants. During a debate with opponents Rep. Kendrick Meek and Gov. Charlie Crist, candidate Rubio argued that giving illegal immigrants an “earned path to citizenship,” which Crist, Sen. John McCain and former President George W. Bush had advocated, is basically amnesty. Rubio, who won that 2010 election, is now the leading Republican in the U.S. Congress pushing for illegal aliens to...

For conservatives who oppose the Gang of Eight immigration bill championed by Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), yesterday was their day to proclaim their disagreement loud and clear. In a “press conference” that quickly turned into a rally, Representative Steve King (R., Iowa) urgently made the case that immigration legislation was being steamrolled too quickly through the House and Senate. “I kind of like a microphone that has some volume to it,” he jovially told the crowd, which would grow to include hundreds of tea partiers over the next couple of hours. He decried the proposed legislation as being “at...

Dennis Michael Lynch, the founder and CEO of TV360 Media and the driving force behind the movie “They Come to America” sat down with The Daily Caller’s Ginni Thomas to discuss his new movie “They Come to America 2″ Having covered the immigration debate from the frontline he had some harsh words for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and his involvement in the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill. ‘I am so against what he is doing. … He’s got it in his mind that he wants to be the President of the United States and somebody sold him on...

There are times when I actually begin to think that many who wear a Republican jersey are, in fact, Democrats. One such issue that makes my eyebrows raise is the current immigration reform bill being put forth by the Gang of Eight, which include John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Ruibo (R-FL) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). Rubio told Univision over the weekend that before we secure our borders, we’ll be legalizing criminals (illegal aliens) who have come into the United States first. Univision reports, Rubio, responding to the concern that legalization might be delayed and therefore be subjected to...