Free Republic

Federal authorities have seized a private airplane full of illegal immigrants. The aircraft was being used in an attempt to smuggle seven illegal immigrants from the Texas border into the interior U.S. to avoid immigration checkpoints. The arrests of the seven illegal immigrants and seizure of the airplane took place on Sunday morning following a routine inspection at the McAllen Miller International airport, information released by the Air and Marine branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed.It was during that inspection that authorities found the illegal immigrants hiding inside a Beech King Air E90 aircraft. The airplane’s pilot, a...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. State education officials say Illinois has withdrawn its recognition of a suburban Chicago school district over its decision to deny enrollment to students based on immigration status. The decision today means Elmwood Park District 401 will lose all of its state funding. Board spokeswoman Meta Minton says it's the first time since 1989 that a school's had its recognition status stripped by the board. In December, the state put Elmwood Park on probation because it had denied enrollment to a girl who had a tourist visa. State rules prohibit discrimination against children seeking public education because of their...

Members of the Minuteman Project have seen firsthand just how dangerous their mission is becoming, after an incident on Saturday night along the California-Mexico border. A California Minuteman leader says about 20 volunteer border-watchers were shot at, reports KFI Radio. Minuteman Project head James Chase says the group heard five shots coming from the Mexican side of the border on Saturday night and then "when we turned the lights on we saw two guys with AK-47s standing at the fence." "We didn't discharge our weapons or fire back because we would have received that AK-47 fire... we just pulled our...

LOS ANGELES -- The top U.S. border enforcement official said Wednesday that his agency is exploring ways to involve citizen volunteers in creating "something akin to a Border Patrol auxiliary" _ a significant shift in rhetoric that comes after a high-profile civilian campaign this spring along the Arizona-Mexico border. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner told The Associated Press that his agency has focused on involving citizens after noting the willingness of volunteers to help federal agents catch illegal immigrants. "It is actually as a result of seeing that there is the possibility in local border communities, and...