Free Republic

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the U.S. government has the right to indefinitely detain some immigrants, the Associated Press reported. Over the dissent of three liberal justices, the court held 6-3 that immigrants are not entitled to a hearing about whether they should be released while the government evaluates their claims... ...Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court's majority opinion that "those aliens are not entitled to a bond hearing." The case stems from an immigration officer's determination that the immigrants had a "reasonable fear" for their safety if returned to their countries, setting in motion an evaluation process that...

Opening the first immigration hearing of the new Congress, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee warned his colleagues not to use the term "illegal immigrant" as the debate goes on. "I hope no one uses the term illegal immigrants here today. Our citizens are not — the people in this country are not illegal. They are are out of status. They are new Americans that are immigrants," said Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat. As Congress begins the immigration debate, both sides are preparing for an emotionally charged fight, and language will be one of the battlegrounds. Many immigrant-rights...

For years, the vast majority of politicians in the main parties have avoided having honest public conversation about the extent and consequences of immigration. The fear of appearing racist, or giving any ground to the arguments of the far right, has left most MPs and commentators in Pollyanna territory - extolling the economic and cultural benefits of immigration and glossing over problems. That has done the nation no favours, because the consequences of rapid social change have been scarcely studied, let alone addressed. And it has increased many people's distrust of the political universe, as the gulf between their own...