Free Republic

oyota (TM) and Nissan, two of the most successful car companies in the world, are hiring temporary workers in Europe to staff some of their auto plants. It is safe to assume that these “employees” will not get significant benefits or pensions. Once they leave the factories, they will be no better off financially beyond what short-term employment has done for them. Temp workers are becoming a larger and larger part of the workforce that sits half-way between full-time long-term workers and the unemployment line. The increase in their ranks is not necessary a good omen for the overall economy....

Healthcare for illegal immigrants cost the Texas government and local hospital districts $678 million in a year, according to a new study that state lawmakers hope will show the federal government how much Texas is spending in uncompensated care for illegal immigrants. The study, by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, estimates that $597 million of the total was spent by 94 public hospitals during fiscal 2005-06. The remainder, about $81 million, went to the state’s contribution to emergency Medicaid, which pays for emergency medical care for things such as childbirth, and to the Texas Family Violence Program, which...

Illegal alien families are using welfare and social services more than ever in the recession. In Los Angeles County alone the cost is more than $1 billion per year. They are costing more than $40 billion per year than what they pay in taxes. Strictly speaking, they shouldn't be eligible for any such services. But for a variety of reasons they're receiving them, one reason being their "anchor babies."

(CNN) -- Authorities are at the scene of a building in Binghamton, New York, where there are "multiple" shooting victims and hostages are being held, a county spokesman said. Broome County Director of Emergency Services Brett Chellis said there is an "active" shooting situation at the American Civic Association, and that several law enforcement agencies are at the scene. Chellis did not provide numbers of victims or hostages, and had no further details. According to the United Way of Broome County Web site, the civic association assists immigrants and refugees with immigration and personal counseling, resettlement, citizenship, family reunification.

Exclusive: Has Illegal Immigration’s Effect on Education Become the ‘Third Rail’ of Politics? Vincent Gioia Traditionally, Social Security has been the “third rail” of politics but we now have another third rail – illegal immigration and education. Politicians step all over themselves asking for more and more money to be spent on education; ignoring the fact that money alone does not make for a good public education. Another thing we are not allowed to mention in a discussion about public education quality and costs is the impact of illegal immigration; otherwise we are labeled “racists.” The United States has the...

13 Million Illegal Immigrants Living in the United States March 8, 2009 FAIRUS.org How Many Illegal Immigrants? Illegal Immigrant Problems & Statistics FAIR estimates that in 2007 the illegal immigrant population is above 13 million persons. Government and academic estimates indicate that as of 2006 there were 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated the illegal immigrant population at 10 million as of November 2004. It is difficult to have an exact figure because the illegal nature of their presence prevents any enumeration, but the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 8.7...

A Bhutanese refugee died recently in his Vickery Meadow apartment in Dallas, within walking distance of Lal Subba's home. The family had no money for a burial, so Subba and the other Bhutanese families in the complex took up a collection to ensure the elderly man received appropriate honor for the life he led. "If we live, too much difficult. If we die, too much difficult," said the 21-year-old who grew up in a Nepal refugee camp and came to Dallas in October, only to find a flailing national economy instead of the idealized American dream. That reality is now...

In social-services jargon, Debra Autry had “multiple barriers to work” when the state of Ohio told her that she had to start earning her welfare benefits. Autry had been out of work and on public assistance for more than two decades, and she lacked many of the skills necessary for a modern economy. She was a single mother, too, like most welfare recipients, with three kids at home. Autry was skeptical about working in the private sector, so the state placed her in a publicly subsidized program that had her cleaning government offices in exchange for her benefits. Disliking the...

I like most Mexican people, just as I like most Americans. I don’t have prejudice against them, they are God’s children, just like me. So let’s get that out of the way. What I do hate, is illegal activity. I don’t like it when people ignore our laws, and sneak into our country. Yes, yes, we are a country of immigrants, I get that, I love that, I respect that, and encourage that. But, we are not a country of illegal immigrants. Law and order should be followed in all things. What I hate more than illegal immigration, is when...

Riverside and San Bernardino counties added more Latino residents between 2000 and 2007 than all but three other U.S. counties, a new analysis of U.S. Census data found. The report, by the nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center, also found that most Latino population growth is now from new births. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was mostly from immigration. That means no matter what happens to the immigration rate, the Latino population of Riverside and San Bernardino counties will continue to grow steadily, reaching a majority within several years, experts say. Riverside County's Hispanic population surged 60 percent between...

What part of illegal alien is so difficult to understand? Apparently, there are those who are either too confused, too unwilling or too incapable of understanding the meaning of those simple words. Instead, they'd rather emotionalize any debate on illegal immigration with cries of racism, discrimination and an alleged lack of compassion for our fellow human beings. They choose this course rather than honestly dealing with the established fact we are a nation of laws - laws intended and necessary to preserve civility and order for our common good. I, for one, refuse to be intimidated or influenced by such...

Studies show as many as 15 percent of children in wealthy nations are physically abused by guardians each year, but the alleged torture of a boy who stumbled into a Tracy fitness club battered, half-starved and in chains last week stands out for its cruelty, a leading child abuse expert says. Cases that severe are "not a very common thing." But they continuously pop up, said Carole Jenny, a pediatrics professor at Brown University's medical school. Underfunding and a lack of resources for child protective services is a huge problem, said Jenny, who called what authorities say happened to the...

Wisconsin pastor has been charged with felony physical abuse of a child after he spanked his 12-year-old son for lying and a teacher notified social services. Barry W. Barnett Jr., 43, of Poynette, Wis., is free on a $10,000 bond, but he could face up to three years in prison and fines for disciplining his son, the local Portage Daily Register reported. At the pastor's hearing, Barnett's son said his father was right to spank him . "He gave me a chance to tell him the truth, and I just kept lying to him," the boy said. The boy said...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ― The home of the San Angelo judge who ordered the removal of 440 children from a polygamist ranch is under guard after Utah and Arizona authorities warned of "enforcers" from the sect, a newspaper reported Wednesday. Police assigned to Judge Barbara Walther's San Angelo house were provided dossiers and photos of 16 men and women deemed a threat, the Deseret News said. "There are many individuals who are willing to give up their life for the cause and you can never underestimate what a religious fanatic is capable of," said e-mails obtained from the Washington...

SPRINGFIELD -- As the state's unpaid medical bills continue to climb, Illinois has enrolled thousands of undocumented immigrant children into Gov. Rod Blagojevich's All Kids insurance program, yet officials don't know how much taxpayers are spending on their care. "The figure is not available," Mark Iocca, an attorney handling information requests for the administration, said in responding to a Daily Herald legal request about those costs. A total of 1.4 million children receive state-provided health care under All Kids. Many of them were previously enrolled in Kid Care, which was folded into the new All Kids program in 2006. All...

Ana Puente was an infant with a liver disorder when her aunt brought her illegally to the U.S. to seek medical care. She underwent two liver transplants at UCLA Medical Center as a child in 1989 and a third in 1998, each paid for by the state. .... Late last month Puente learned of another, little-known option for patients with certain healthcare needs. If she notified U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that she was in the country illegally, state health officials might grant her full Medi-Cal coverage. Puente did so, her benefits were restored and she is now awaiting a...

HILLSBORO, Ore. – The state of Oregon may try to take a 2-year-old girl from her grandparents in Hillsboro and send her to Mexico to live with relatives of her half-siblings – people she doesn't know. State officials say they aim to keep the three children together, a move that the grandparents, Luz and Maurice Cephus, are fighting. The girl at the center of the conflict is 23-month-old Faith Cephus. Her grandparents, (pictured below) who became the girl's certified foster parents, want to adopt her but are living in fear of losing her. "Her being our blood granddaughter, we thought...

A ballot initiative before the attorney general's office would require those seeking public benefits from the state to prove their citizenship. The measure by Secure Arkansas, a group chaired by Jeannie Burlsworth of Bryant, would make individuals sign an affidavit under the penalty of perjury that they are lawfully living in the United States. Burlsworth says the measure is aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from receiving state benefits. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has until April 9 to review the proposed ballot title. If approved, supporters of the measure could begin gathering the required 61,974 signatures needed to place it before...

For a mother, there can be no greater horror than having a baby snatched away by the State at birth. The women to whom it has happened say their lives are ruined for ever - and goodness knows what longterm effect it has on the child. Most never recover from this trauma. Imagine a baby growing in your body for nine months, imagine going through the emotion of bringing it into the world, only to have social workers seize the newborn, sometimes within minutes of its first cry and often on the flimsiest of excuses. Yet this disturbing scenario is...

LA County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich has announced that a new report shows illegal aliens and their families collected over $35 million in welfare and food stamp allocations in July. In the report, illegals are said to have collected nearly $20 million in welfare assistance for July 2007 and an additional $15 million in monthly food stamp allocations for an estimated annual cost of $440 million. "Illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers," said Antonovich. "In addition to $220 million for public safety and $400 million for healthcare, the $440 million in welfare allocations...