Free Republic

Donald Trump, the orange spray-tanned Republican presidential candidate, kicked off his California primary campaign yesterday at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Costa Mesa's Pacific Amphitheater seemed like the perfect venue in a county that's right-wing as hell, no? The city, no stranger to anti-immigrant policy at the local level, had to be a good fit for Trump's "build that wall," Mexi-hating mantra, right? Wrong! Waves of protests rolled out the unwelcome mat for the Donald blocking freeway entrances, taking over an intersection, vandalizing property all while bumping YG and Nipsey Hussle's "FDT (F### Donald Trump)" throughout the day. At the onset,...

Speaking outside a Donald Trump rally in Fort Worth, Texas on Friday, a Hispanic demonstrator warned the GOP candidate’s white supporters that there would be consequences if Trump manages to make it all the way to the White House. “If these people get what they want, Trump in there, I guarantee you — you think the Mexicans are going to lay down that easily? We don’t ever say nothing,” Ronald Gonzales, of Dallas, said. After explaining that he isn’t an advocate for open borders, he argued that many of the illegal immigrants living in the U.S. “already got families and...

BOSTON (CBS) – In a predawn raid, 37 of 56 alleged members of the MS-13 gang were rounded up in Boston and surrounding communities, indicted on charges related to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking. The gang’s core mantra translated into English is “kill, rape, control.” Under the gang’s strict rules prospective members are required to engage in “significant violent criminal activity,” according to U.S. attorney Carmen Ortiz.

Last week something really surprising happened. Dr. Ben Carson, the Neurosurgeon turned GOP presidential candidate, overtook Donald Trump in a CBS News poll by a margin of 26 percent to 22 percent. Not so surprising, is that Dr. Carson as the new frontrunner, has come under much more scrutiny and criticism than ever before. I particularly liked the comments by several bloggers who compared Carson to Chance the Gardener, a pitifully naive character played by Peter Sellers in the 1979 film, “Being There”. Suddenly “Being There” has become relevant again, especially to those of us who have taken time to...

It's been a morning of mixed messages for Republican Presidential contender Donald Trump, who learned that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has taken the lead from him in a major national poll, while at the same time a second respected poll found that on the key issues of the economy and national defense, and dealing with foreign leaders, GOP primary voters trust Trump over his competitors. While Trump still leads most national polls, one of the biggest questions right now is what he will do in the event that he cannot maintain his lead. The billionaire former reality television star has...

While el Trumpo demands that Iowans quit screwing around and start showing up at the polls for him, he might want to take a trip south to good’ol Texas too. From CBS Dallas Fort Worth: A KTVT-CBS 11 / Dixie Strategies Poll of over 2,000 likely primary voters in Texas shows a pitched battle taking place at the top of the GOP ticket and Clinton dominance on the Democrat side. Statewide, among likely GOP Primary voters, Dr. Ben Carson and real estate mogul Donald Trump are in a virtual tie at 22.93% and 22.17% respectively. Texas Senator Ted Cruz is...

Sophie Cruz's brief encounter with Pope Francis during his parade in Washington this week appeared to be the kind of spontaneous moment that is so endearing about this pope: an initially hesitant young child wrapping an arm around his neck as he offers a kiss and a blessing. But for 5-year-old Sophie, the moment unfolded as perfectly as it was scripted by members of a coalition of Los Angeles-based immigration rights groups. They had been preparing for nearly a year for the young girl from suburban Los Angeles to make a dash for the popemobile to deliver a message about...

Grammy-winning producer Emilio Estefan is not happy with Donald Trump’s anti-Mexican rhetoric — and he’s gathering some friends to take a stand against it, according to Billboard.com. Billboard reports that Estefan, 62, has enlisted dozens of friends — including Shakira, Carlos Santana, Thalia, Pepe Aguilar and his wife, singer Gloria Estefan — record We’re All Mexican, which he describes as a musical “celebration of Hispanics and our accomplishments.” The track will also include reggaeton singer Wisin, Wyclef Jean, radio personality Enrique Santos and famed Spanish-American chef José Andrés, and will be released in late September. “There’s a message being sent...

<p>Hispanic groups raised their voices against GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and his proposed immigration policy at a Dallas City Hall rally on Monday.</p> <p>The anti-Donald Trump Labor day rally outside city hall was completely in Spanish and called "Un Dia Sin Trump" -- a day without Trump.</p>

In a Spanish-language address, Bush declared, “El hombre no es conservador,” which–in English–translates to, “The man [i.e. Trump] is not conservative.” Trump replied by asserting that if Bush wants to be a leader, “he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.” ... Trump’s call for language patriotism, however, received a stinging rebuke from the ethnic advocacy group La Raza. “Every time Donald Trump opens his mouth he widens the gulf between the Republican Party and Latino voters. Today is no exception,” said La Raza spokesperson Lisa Navarrette.

Spanish government official, José Manuel García Margallo, just recently declared that the only way to deal with ISIS is war, and that all of the terrorist members of ISIS need to be destroyed. According to one Spanish report: Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, has been loud and clear in the Congress of Deputies, referring to the Islamic State, against which he says is not worth any diplomatic solution. With Daesh there can be no other solution than the military, there is no negotiation, or Libya or Syria or Iraq. There is only one possibility: physically eliminate [them]. God willing,...

Kansas City, Kansas mayor Mark Hollan bragged during a speech this week at the annual La Raza Convention that his city is no longer a majority white town. Hooray! The mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, in an address to the radical socialist organization National Council of La Raza, bragged that his city is no longer majority white and the city’s schools now have students who speak 62 different languages. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Kansas City, Kansas, was 52 percent white. But in a speech before the La Raza National Affiliates Luncheon earlier this week in Kansas City, Mayor...

As she addressed the National Council of La Raza––the largest Hispanic advocacy organization in the country––today, Hillary Clinton called out Donald Trump for his “appalling” comments on illegal immigrants. Clinton previously connected Trump’s immigration views to his GOP rivals’ and today, she told her audience that Trump is demonizing “people who love this country, work hard, and want nothing more than a chance to build a better life for themselves and their children.” She expressed outrage that Trump “doubled down” instead of apologizing and said, “Basta! Enough!” And her campaign really wanted to hammer all of this home today:

MIAMI, Florida — Conservative columnist and 10-time New York Times bestselling author Ann Coulter steamrolled Fusion host Jorge Ramos in an appearance Tuesday filled with dramatic moments, none more interesting than where Coulter got Ramos to admit he doesn’t believe there should be a limit to how many Mexicans the United States will allow into this country—either legally or illegally. [snip] Ramos followed up by asking Coulter if he thinks America is a “stronger nation” because it’s “more diverse, more tolerant.” “It’s not more diverse, it’s more Mexican,” Coulter shot back. “I think it’s more diverse—much more diverse,” Ramos replied....

WASHINGTON — Congress is sending President Obama a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the budget year, without overturning the president’s immigration policies. The House on Tuesday voted 257-167 for the measure that Obama is expected to sign. Without action, funding for the department would have expired Friday at midnight.

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- California Highway Patrol officers say a South Valley driver was drunk when he hit and killed a 3-year-old girl Sunday night as she picked out a treat from the ice cream truck. Investigators say the ice cream truck had just pulled into a Porterville driveway when 18-year-old unlicensed driver Adolfo Balbuena hit four people before taking off. Officers later caught him hiding near the Porterville Municipal Golf Course. CHP officers say the drunk driver had a blood-alcohol content of one-and-a-half times the legal limit. He lives near the crash scene and told investigators he knew what...

Some people are urging the Colorado burrito chain Illegal Pete’s to change its name because of the way the word “illegal” has been used to describe immigrants. The Coloradan reports that about 30 people gathered in Fort Collins Wednesday to ask owner Pete Turner to change the name of the chain, which is about to open an outlet there. It’s part of a bigger campaign nationally against what critics refer to as the “I-word.” They think using the word to describe a person is dehumanizing. …

Mexico is helping some of its citizens apply for a controversial immigration program in the U.S. called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Since the Obama administration created the program in 2012, more than 580,000 unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors have received temporary relief from deportation and been given work permits that last for at least two years. But 45 percent of those who are eligible for DACA have not applied, and the cost may be holding some back. Immigrants have to pay a total of $465 to the Department of Homeland Security for fees related...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mexico's president spoke of the need for U.S. immigration reform on a two-day visit to immigrant-friendly California, saying those who reject diversity and inclusion will ultimately be proven wrong. "We want to be a factor of cohesion, not division, with full respect for the sovereignty of the United States," President Enrique Pena Nieto said Monday. "This, at the end, is about — and only about — a matter of justice for those who contribute so much to the development of the American society." Hispanics have now become a force to be reckoned with in California. They...

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. (AP) -- The cheerful sign outside Jane Cornell's summer school classroom in Pennsylvania's wealthiest county says "Welcome" and "Bienvenidos" in polished handwriting. Inside, giggling grade-schoolers who mostly come from homes where Spanish is the primary language worked on storytelling with a tale about a crocodile going to the dentist. The children and their classroom at the Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center, near both mushroom farms and the borough's bucolic red-brick downtown, are a subtle reminder of America's changing school demographics. For the first time ever, U.S. public schools are projected this fall to have more minority students...