Free Republic

I t appears fashionable these days, and almost politically correct, to blame hard-working immigrants, especially those from Mexico and Central America, for the social and economic ills of and our nation. Anti-immigrant fervor on TV and radio talk shows, citizens attempting to enforce immigration laws and the enactment of restrictive laws, such as the Real ID Act, are evidence of this trend. Some of our elected officials are joining the parade, going so far as to call for the closing of our southern border. This growing hysteria is nothing new: Similar scapegoating has occurred at other troubled times in our...

New buzz in the immigration debateLegislation and media raise the temperature By Leslie Berestein STAFF WRITER May 13, 2005 Legislators tout immigration plan, border security In a Tijuana shelter, recently repatriated migrants ponder how they will get back across the border to their jobs in the United States. In East County, residents whose homes and ranches abut illegal border-crossing routes matter-of-factly give water to migrants who limp onto their property seeking help, then promptly dial the Border Patrol. This has been part of daily life along Southern California's border with Mexico for years. Undocumented migrants try to come in,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of illegal immigrants have obtained driver's licenses in three states, federal authorities said Thursday, highlighting a security hole that the Sept. 11 hijackers exploited. Three employees of Florida's motor vehicles agency were among 52 people arrested in a bribery scam that put driver's licenses in the hands of at least 2,000 illegal immigrants, officials said. The case, announced Thursday, follows similar arrests in Michigan and Maryland over the past week. "With a valid driver's license, you establish an identity," said Michael Garcia, assistant secretary of the Homeland Security Department. "There's no way to identify whether that...