Free Republic

Dozens of illegal immigrants celebrated in Annapolis Tuesday as Maryland officially made them eligible for tuition discounts at colleges and universities — an issue that ignited impassioned opposition during the legislative session and is already subject to a repeal effort. Gov. Martin O'Malley made good on a long-standing promise to sign the controversial measure that extended in-state tuition rates, making Maryland the 11th state to grant such rights to undocumented residents. His action came the same day that President Barack Obama said he will renew a push for federal legislation that clears a citizenship path for illegal immigrants. "This will...

President Obama plans to unveil a “blueprint” on Tuesday of what he wants Congress to include in a comprehensive immigration reform bill, according to senior administration officials. Obama is scheduled to visit El Paso, Texas, with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as part of the White House’s increased efforts to return immigration reform to the national spotlight. A senior administration official told reporters in a conference call Monday evening that Obama’s renewed push for an immigration bill was not merely a political move attempting to paint Congress as the inhibitor and the White House as the doer in the eyes...

President Obama is pledging border security and pleading for help from Republicans as he steps up his campaign to pass an immigration reform bill, but new polling suggests the rift within his own party is actually deeper than within the GOP on the issue. The data from the Pew Center for the People and the Press’ massive look at political parties, released last week, found that the gap between the ends of the Democratic coalition on favoring stricter enforcement and on legalization is twice as large as the gap between hard-line Republicans and their more libertarian-leaning cohorts. Mr. Obama will...

Jessica Colotl, in many ways, is exactly the kind of person we wish we had more of in this country. She's bright, ambitious, a good student and interested in civic affairs. "I am no different than any other American," she told the Atlanta newspaper this week. Maybe not, except for one little thing: Ms. Colotl has spent most of her life in this country illegally, and arrogantly thinks the laws that apply to everyone else - and especially those that apply to foreign nationals who want to become citizens of this country - shouldn't apply to her. Ms. Colotl, you'll...

EL PASO, Texas -- The White House confirmed Friday that President Barack Obama will deliver a speech on immigration reform when he visits El Paso on Tuesday. El Paso Mayor John Cook told KFOX-14 that the president will likely give the speech at Chamizal National Park, though he said the White House has not made the final decision about location. Immigration reform was a campaign promise Obama made as early as 2008. "Unfortunately, I know myself, people from the National League of Cities, Municipal League, the Texas Border Coalition have all been somewhat disappointed that the federal government has not...

California’s State Assembly on Thursday approved legislation to let undocumented students apply for college scholarships. But only Democrats voted for the bill. Assembly Republicans say it makes no sense to offer financial aid to students who have no legal right to live and work in California. Under the California Dream Act, only students who’ve attended a California high school for at least three years may apply for college scholarships — but only for those that private donors underwrite. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles said these students deserve at least that much. “These young men and women were brought here...

U.S. immigration officials have decided that an undocumented college student apprehended by authorities after driving without a license can stay in the United States for another year, the student said. Reached by phone as she rushed to class Tuesday evening, Kennesaw State University student Jessica Colotl said the decision was "like a big present."

Keeping the Dream Alive: President Obama's Work with the African American CommunityPosted by Michael Blake on April 08, 2011 at 10:30 AM EDT On Wednesday, April 6th, the National Action Network kicked off its 20th anniversary convention, celebrating "20 years of struggle, 20 years of progress, 20 years of shaping history." During the day, four Cabinet members--Education Secretary Duncan, Attorney General Holder, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan--spoke to convention attendees about how the Obama Administration has been working with the African American community. That night, President Obama spoke at the Keepers of the Dream Awards Gala....

The chancellor of UC Berkeley is drawing criticism for sending a campuswide e-mail that linked a Tucson shooting rampage with Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants and the failure of the DREAM Act. In the e-mail, sent Monday, Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau condemned a "climate in which demonization of others goes unchallenged and hateful speech is tolerated." He continued, postulating on factors that may have motivated Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged gunman in Saturday's shootings, .. : "I believe that it is not a coincidence that this calamity has occurred in a state which has legislated discrimination against undocumented persons." ......

Although the U. S. Senate voted down the federal government’s latest attempt to expand government entitlements, academics remain just as adamantly for it. On December 18, 2010, as we reported, the U. S. Senate voted down the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Last week, the radical caucus of the Modern Language Association (MLA) voted for it, as our correspondent on the scene at their Los Angeles confab—Allie Duzett—discovered. “Whereas the U. S. Senate voted down the ‘Dream Act,’ which would have granted undocumented students in high schools legal status by attending college, thus depriving them of...

While the DREAM Act failed on a national stage, California State Democrats would like to skirt federal law and provide a pathway to citizenship for those who are illegally residing in the Golden State. State Assembly Bill 78, written by Tony Mendoza (D-Arcadia) seeks to put an advisory measure on the state ballot asking California voters if they think the United States is responsible to grant amnesty to longtime illegal aliens currently living unlawfully inside America. The Democrat’s proposed “pathway to citizenship bill” would give illegal aliens who have worked in the U.S. for five years, have no felony convictions,...

I was really happy when I read in the Washington Post that soon-to-be demoted to Minority Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi has turned to director Steven Spielberg to "rebrand" the House Democrats. The story offered me a way out of my quandary -- what to title this column today. The Tea Party and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, The Sugardaddy Express, Pelosi Park. Anyway, just as I selected the present title, the NY Daily News said the Spielberg story was false. I suppose after fawning all over Castro and making a video montage for Kerry, Spielberg's decided to...

Obama called the stories of undocumented minors “heartbreaking” and said that changing the immigration system and enhancing border security is “the right thing to do.”

There is a bit of confusion on the Internet that needs to be cleared up about the Democrats’ plans for the DREAM Act. A number of readers have pointed to a weekend post at FreeRepublic.com warning that the DREAM Act is “hidden” in another bill, H.R. 5281. Senate staff explained to me today that DREAM was passed as an amendment to HR 5281 in the House and it was sent over as a “message,” which gave it privileged status so the Senate didn’t have to vote on a motion to proceed (simply a cloture vote). My Senate staff source added...

least 20 police officers responded to a melee in Moorhead, Minn., early Sunday that involved up to a dozen young African immigrants fighting not only with hands and feet, but also with a taser, knives, a replica handgun and a shovel. More than 100 people looked on, many yelling, in the parking lot of a bowling alley on the city's north side, police said.

LOS ANGELES -- Emboldened by months of phone calls to lawmakers, hunger strikes and sit-ins, a group of college students and graduates in Los Angeles say they plan to take their fight for immigrant rights to the states and the 2012 election after Senate Republicans blocked a key piece of legislation..they also say Latino voters are getting fed up with lawmakers at a time when they are accruing greater political clout. "This is a movement," said Nancy Meza, a 23-year-old illegal immigrant and college graduate who wore a UCLA sweatshirt as she watched the televised vote. "We don't have lobbyists...

1) It was "closer than it looked"—not because Harry Reid had 59 votes secretly locked up if he could only have gotten one more (though that's possible) but because if one or two senators had ostentiously switched in the weeks leading up to the vote then "at least three other votes would have gone with them and we would have lost." ..... "Translation:The Tea Parties did it."

Joe Manchin, the newly elected Democratic senator from West Virginia, is taking heat from Republicans for skipping several crucial votes on Saturday to spend time with his family. Manchin missed votes to advance the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants under a certain age who meet certain requirements, and repeal the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

H.R.5281 Latest Title: Removal Clarification Act of 2010 Sponsor: Rep Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [GA-4] (introduced 5/12/2010) Cosponsors (3) Related Bills: H.RES.1756 Latest Major Action: 12/8/2010 Resolving differences -- House actions. Status: On motion to to agree to the Senate amendments numbered 1 and 2, and that the House agree to the Senate amendment numbered 3 with an amendment Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 216 - 198 (Roll no. 625). Latest Action: 12/16/2010 Motion by Senator Reid to refer to Senate Committee on the Judiciary the House message to accompany the bill (HR 5281) with instructions to...

Republicans block youth immigration bill AP WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans on Saturday doomed an effort that would have given hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a path to legal status if they enrolled in college or joined the military. Sponsors of the Dream Act fell five votes short of the 60 they needed to break through largely GOP opposition and win its enactment before Republicans take over the House and narrow Democrats' majority in the Senate next month.