Free Republic

The flow of illegal immigrants has dropped to its lowest level in years judging by the number being apprehended along the border, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Friday as he sought to be more transparent about his department’s performance. Mr. Johnson said the drop is coming despite an improving economy, which generally draws more illegal migrants. Instead, the secretary said, a boost in manpower and technology along the southwestern border, coupled with public messages in Latin America discouraging would-be migrants from making the journey have helped turn the tide. Through the first six months of fiscal year 2015, which...

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Known for the hard line he takes against illegal immigration, on Thursday admitted to, and apologized for, hiring a private investigator to look into the wife of a U.S. District Court judge who is overseeing contempt of court proceedings against him. [snip] Known not only for his position on but for stunts like forcing prisoners to wear pink underwear, Arpaio is on trial for violating Snow’s orders in an earlier racial profiling suit. Snow ordered Arpaio’s office to stop detaining people based on suspicions of being in the country illegally back in December 2011. Arpaio...

SIERRA VISTA — At 6 a.m. today Canyon Vista Medical Center was declared officially open by its CEO, Dr. Dean French. The first of 51 patients, 8-day-old Edgar Zuriel Tebaqui Sallard whose mother Judith lives in Douglas, arrived from the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center at 6:05 a.m. The last patient transported was Richard Holt, who left SVHRC at 10:14 a.m. and a minute later French declared the half century-old facility closed. Outside the American flag was symbolically lowered and folded, as workers covered signs of the old hospital. Canyon Vista Medical Center came into being when an agreement by...

Phoenix police arrested a man accused of physically and sexually assaulting a woman following their arranged marriage, according to court documents. Mohamed S. Abdullahi, 30, faces sexual assault, assault and kidnapping charges. He is being held without bond. Police noted in the court documents that the victim is Abdullahi's wife via Muslim custom. Police did not release her age, but Sgt. Trent Crump said she is a young adult. Police said the victim's parents married her to Abdullahi in November without her knowledge. She learned of the marriage in December and fled the state but returned two weeks later to...

A response to my email sent earlier to Sen McFlake, Democrat-lite from Arizona: "As you may know, on November 7, 2014, President Obama nominated Loretta Lynch to replace Attorney General Eric Holder. On February 26, 2015, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted to approve Ms. Lynch's nomination by a vote of 12 to 8. I voted in favor of her nomination. I believe that elections have consequences and that elected presidents should be afforded a certain degree of deference in the presidential appointment process, particularly when the nominee is uniquely qualified. While I disagree with Ms. Lynch...

Full title: Judicial Watch, AEF File Amici Brief with Supreme Court Supporting Arizona, Kansas Efforts to Require Proof of Citizenship on Voter Registration Forms ‘Illegal voting at any level can change the outcome of elections. And there is no acceptable amount of fraud.’ (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it has joined with the Allied Educational Foundation (AEF) to file an amici curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of Arizona’s and Kansas’ efforts to add proof-of-citizenship requirements to a federal voter registration form ( Kris W. Kobach, et al., v. U. S. Election Assistance...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has clearly awakened the Washington establishment beast.Not only is the liberal media and establishment right-of-center coming out guns-a-blazing at Walker over his pro-American worker position on legal immigration, but now Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)—the most pro-amnesty Republican there is, someone who worked for years with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) on immigration—is leading a charge against Walker’s new position.“I think most statistics show that they fill part of the workforce that are much needed. We have, and I’m a living example of, the aging population. We need these people in the workforce legally,” McCain said...

Rubio’s right that this is a hypothetical and that nothing like the Gang of Eight bill could pass the House right now. But Mickey Kaus is right that it’s a darned fine gotcha, a way to gauge how far Rubio’s willing to go in renouncing his signature “achievement” as a senator. What if Rubio defeated Hillary next year and the party’s leadership decided to capitalize by doing something splashy to show Latino voters that the new, Rubio-led GOP was ready to engage them like never before? A bill like the Gang of Eight bill getting past the House isn’t...

Army ROTC cadets are complaining on message boards that they were pressured to walk in high heels on Monday for an Arizona State University campus event designed to raise awareness of sexual violence against women. The Army openly encouraged participating in April’s “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes” events in 2014, but now it appears as though ROTC candidates at ASU were faced with a volunteer event that became mandatory. “Attendance is mandatory and if we miss it we get a negative counseling and a ‘does not support the battalion sharp/EO mission’ on our CDT OER for getting the branch...

Wal-Mart closures have citizens concerned. Jade Helm 15 is set to kick off in seven states this summer, sending Special Operations forces from all four main branches of the military onto civilian soil to conduct hostile take-over training – and civil-rights advocates are sounding the alarms. ... The looming Jade Helm exercise, set for July 15 through Sept. 15, labels Texas and Utah as hostile areas. Global Research also reported the military says New Mexico “isn’t much friendlier.” Other states participating: California, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada. Some of the social media commentary so far: “The Pentagon’s ‘Operations Jade Helm 15′:...

While the administration struggles to move forward with its plan to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, the list of foreigners trying to get into the United States legally has surged to 4.4 million, over 100,000 more than last year, according to the State Department. Those on the list either have a family member who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder, sponsoring their entry, or an employer wants them. The list grew by 100,085 over last year. And more than a quarter of them, 1,323,978, are Mexican. ... unlike illegals slipping over the border, many of those on the...

Senior Republican Sen. John McCain blasted Pentagon officials on Friday for dramatically downplaying the role of Ramadi as the key Iraqi city stood on the brink of being taken over by ISIS. "Disregarding the strategic importance of Ramadi is a denial of reality and an insult to the families of hundreds of brave young Americans who were killed and wounded during the Surge fighting to free Ramadi from the grip of Al-Qaeda," McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a written statement released by his office, which was later joined onto by Repbulican Sen. Lindsey Graham. McCain,...

FORT HUACHUCA — The death of 6 million Jews and millions of others was partially the fault of untold others who remained silent as Nazis and their supporters went on a murderous campaign from 1933 to 1945. That was the message sent by those who spoke at Fort Huachuca’s annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, during which horrors of the Holocaust were recalled.

PHOENIX - Five adults were found dead inside a north Phoenix home after a shooting Thursday in a suspected dispute about the family's business, police said. Phoenix police said a dispatcher received an "unknown trouble" call around 2 p.m. and then heard gunshots in the background. The names and ages of the three men and two women weren't immediately released. But police said the three men were brothers and the dead women apparently were the men's mother and a wife of one of the brothers. Police said a gun was found next to one of the men who had a...

PHOENIX -- Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed legislation Monday that would have allowed county attorneys to refuse to help with adoptions, setting the stage for a legal fight over whether gays have the same right to assistance as heterosexuals.

Arizona Police RAm Suspect.. Police Hit Suspect Mario Valencia With Car Dash Cam Video Dashcam video shows Arizona cop car ramming armed suspect TUCSON, Ariz. -- Police in Arizona released video from a dashboard camera showing how a police officer used his cruiser to put an end to a crime spree in February, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV in Tucson reported.

FORT HUACHUCA — April is a special month for the Army as it celebrates the most precious and youngest of its soldiers — the children of those enlisted — especially considering that often GI parents and their kids are separated by the needs of military. Saturday, the Thunder Mountain Activity Centre on Fort Huachuca and the grounds outside were turned over to the young as a place for them to cavort, to play games, and to...

PHOENIX -- An Arizona legislator said she's formally exploring a possible primary challenge to Sen. John McCain, a fellow Republican and five-term incumbent. State Sen. Kelli Ward said in Monday's announcement that she wanted to provide a "new, positive, principled voice for Arizona in Washington" and that she's received strong encouragement to run in 2016.

A judge sentenced convicted murderer Jodi Arias to life in prison without the possibility of parole Monday, for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. The decision by Judge Sherry Stephens was largely a formality after a jury deadlocked last month on whether to give Arias the death penalty or life in prison. The mistrial removed the death penalty as an option. The only decision left was whether the judge would allow the 34-year-old Arias to be eligible for release after 25 years. She declined to do that, meaning Arias will spend the rest of her life in prison.

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...