Free Republic

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott became the first in the nation to refuse to host refugees in his state, flexing the new veto the Trump administration created last year to give state and local officials a say in whether they become a destination for the migrants. More than 40 other governors, both Democrats and Republicans, have said they will accept refugees. But a swath of conservative states from Texas to Florida had held out, ahead of a deadline later this month. Mr. Abbott, a Republican, becomes the first to refuse — a major statement for a state that has accepted more...

The U.S. government on Monday launched a pilot program to collect DNA from people in immigration custody and submit it to the FBI, with plans to expand nationwide. The information would go into a massive criminal database run by the FBI, where it would be held indefinitely. A memo outlining the program published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security said U.S. citizens and permanent residents holding a “green card” who are detained could be subject to DNA testing, as well as asylum seekers and people entering the country without authorization. Refusing to submit DNA could lead to a misdemeanor...

IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL PAGE 73 of 159 [16]Non-U.S., non-Iranian financial institutions engaging in transactions with Iranian financial institutions (including the Central Bank of Iran) not appearing on the SDN List will not be exposed to sanctions as a result of those Iranian financial institutions engaging in transactions or banking relationships involving Iranian individuals and entities, including financial institutions, on the SDN List, provided that the non-U.S., non-Iranian financial institution does not conduct or facilitate, and is not otherwise involved in, those specific transactions or banking relationships with the Iranian individuals and entities, including financial institutions, on the SDN List.

It's overbroad, sets a bad precedent, and has nothing to do with defense I am trying to mix my analyses of the good and the bad amendments in S. 1790, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA 2020). I recently wrote about the bad (codification of the heretofore administrative practice of "parole in place") and the good (the removal of dangerous reporting requirements for our troops sent to the border). But the bad just seems to overwhelm the good, as section 7611 of NDAA, granting a generous amnesty to Liberian nationals, reveals. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), has...

The critical language is hidden in the short section which apparently provides a modest immigration reward to foreign service members, saying: (b) Sense Of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that— (1) parole in place reinforces family unity; (2) disruption to servicemembers must be minimized, in order to faithfully execute their objectives; (3) separation of military families must be prevented; -snip- The last line will be cited as legal authority for a future President to offer the “parole in place” to as many migrants as he might wish to provide, said Andrew:

Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD/IG) Glenn Fine has initiated an inquiry, at the request of a multitude of Democratic lawmakers, into whether President Trump's deployment of military troops to the southern border was lawful...Glenn Fine was nominated to his current position by Barack Obama in 2016.

The House on Wednesday passed a contentious agricultural bill that would likely put more than a million illegal immigrants on a pathway to legal status as part of what supporters say is a vital modernization of the industry’s workforce -- but that immigration hawks blasted as a “large-scale amnesty.” The Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed 260-165, with support from both Democrats and Republicans. The bill provides a process for undocumented farmworkers to seek a temporary five-and-a-half-year “Certified Agricultural Worker” status if they have worked for approximately six months in the industry in the last two years. That status can either...

As all eyes are on the House impeachment inquiry, elsewhere an agricultural bill that could provide a path to legal status for millions of illegal immigrants is rumbling through the chamber — leading immigration hawks to accuse lawmakers of trying to sneak in an amnesty while the nation is distracted. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, passed in the House Judiciary Committee last month, is scheduled for a vote on the House floor Wednesday. The bill provides a process for undocumented farmworkers to seek a temporary five-and-a-half-year “Certified Agricultural Worker” status if they have worked for approximately six months in the...

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on the hilariously misnamed Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would “modernize” agricultural labor right back to the 17th century. At the core of the bill are several indentured-labor schemes intended to tie current illegal aliens and future “temporary” workers to farm jobs for four to ten years before giving them Green Cards.

Urgent!"From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] By Ms. LOFGREN: H.R. 5038. Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article I, Section 8, clause 4 provides Congress with the power to establish a ``uniform rule of Naturalization.'' [Page H8784]"

A group of Representatives led by Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) recently introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA). This bill will amnesty over 1.5 million illegal alien farmworkers, expand the H-2A program, add 40,000 green cards to the EB-3 category, and mandate E-Verify across the agriculture sector. Despite its flashy name, this bill does nothing to modernize the agricultural workforce. Instead of encouraging the adoption of time- and cost-saving technology, this bill proposes amnestying millions of alien farmworkers and giving them a path to citizenship. It is a massive amnesty, plain and simple. Farmworker Amnesty The bill...

The states with the largest share of their populations speaking a foreign language at home in 2018 were California (45 percent), Texas (36 percent), New Mexico (34 percent), New Jersey (32 percent), New York and Nevada (each 31 percent), Florida (30 percent), Arizona and Hawaii (each 28 percent), and Massachusetts (24 percent).

The last four decades of mass immigration did not just happen by chance. Complex social and political forces drove the demographic transformation that has added 55 million people to the U.S. population since 1980.

The Defense Department is no longer moving forward with three border barrier projects in California and Arizona, according to a court filing Monday. The move is a reversal of an earlier Pentagon authorization for about 20 miles of fencing, lighting and other border infrastructure that would have used $2.5 billion in funds redirected from a counter-drug fund.

US VICE PRESIDENT Mike Pence has touched down in Ireland this afternoon. Air Force Two, the plane which carries the vice president and the second lady landed in Shannon Airport at around 4.30pm this afternoon. Pence will meet with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar tomorrow as well as President Michael D Higgins during his visit. The meeting with Varadkar for lunch and talks will take place in Farmleigh House with Varadkar saying today that his parents and partner Matt Barrett will also be present. Pence is arriving in Shannon early this evening and will stay overnight in Trump Doonbeg – the Co...

A top American diplomat said the United States would not prosecute or otherwise seek to punish President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela if he voluntarily left power, despite bringing his country to the verge of economic collapse and humanitarian disaster. Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s special envoy for Venezuela, said he had seen no indication that Mr. Maduro was willing to step down. But his offer of amnesty was a message to Mr. Maduro after both countries’ leaders described high-level talks that Mr. Abrams unequivocally said did not happen. “This is not a persecution,” Mr. Abrams said of Mr. Maduro on...

About 300 of the 680 people detained in Wednesday's federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid were released the same day, officials said...If a couple was detained with minor children at home, one of them would be released on "humanitarian grounds." Single parents with minor children at home also were released.

The Amnesty International travel advisory for the country of the United States of America calls on people worldwide to exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan when traveling throughout the USA. This Travel Advisory is being issued in light of ongoing high levels of gun violence in the country. Click Link to Read: Amnesty International US Travel Advisory

Less than six weeks after Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) signed into law New York’s so-called “Green Light Bill,” Assembly Bill (AB) 3675, which allows illegal aliens to apply for drivers’ licenses, a second county clerk has stepped forward to sue the state in an attempt to prevent the law from taking effect. On July 24, Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola (R) followed Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns (D) lead and filed suit. Recent polls show a clear majority of New Yorkers are against giving drivers’ licenses to illegal aliens. Rensselaer County Clerk Merola called the Green Light Law a “travesty,”...

Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin McAleenan renewed a temporary amnesty program for about 7,000 Syrian nationals who have been allowed to remain in the United States since 2012. On Thursday, McAleenan announced that he would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Syrian nationals living across the U.S. for 18 months — meaning 7,000 Syrians will be allowed to remain in the country through March 21, 2021. ... The Trump administration has been approving and renewing TPS for foreign nationals in the U.S. at Obama era levels. For instance, in Fiscal Year 2018, the Trump administration...