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In the early hours of the morning, Congress delivered an absolute dud of a spending bill in order to keep the largely-useless federal government open at the expense of people who fund it. As noted by Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, the bill will hamper the ability for the Department of Homeland Security, and thus Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to remove illegal aliens from the United States. “None of the funds provided by this Act… may be used by the Secretary of Homeland Security to place in detention, remove, refer for a decision whether to initiate removal...

The only remaining Republican in what had begun as a bipartisan House group working on immigration says that he is crafting legislation that would provide a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, a move likely not to sit well with some of his GOP colleagues. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, of Florida, said he and several other Republicans are working on a measure that offers some of the nation’s estimated 11 undocumented immigrants a way to “get right with the law,” according to the Wall Street Journal. -snip- Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, is working on his own bill to...

First John McCain enlisted the support of the country's only Jewish vice presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman, who ran on the Democratic ticket in 2000. Now he might tap a Jewish vice presidential choice of his own: Eric Cantor. The 45-year-old fourth-term congressman from Virginia has emerged as a serious - if still long-shot - candidate for the VP job in recent days, though the McCain campaign wouldn't confirm reports that Cantor has made the short list. Cantor, the House of Representative's chief deputy minority whip, is known as a rising star in the Republican party with a talent for fund-raising....

SALT LAKE CITY -- Rep. Chris Cannon, the five-term Republican facing a stiff primary challenge here over his stance on immigration, has lost a comfortable lead and heads into tomorrow's primary in a statistical tie, according to the latest poll by the Salt Lake City Tribune. The survey of 400 voters found that 44 percent of "likely" Republican primary voters prefer the incumbent Mr. Cannon, compared with 41 percent who prefer developer and political newcomer John Jacob, who promises to crack down on illegal immigration. The three-point gap is within the poll's five-percentage-point margin of error.

Right now the leader of Monday's boycott is on CSPAN. I heard it on CSPAN radion, not sure which channel.

ACAPULCO- The decapitated heads of two police officials were found early Thursday dumped in front of a government building in this Pacific coast resort... The heads of police commander Mario Nunez Magana and officer Jesus Alberto Ibarra were found at the same site where four drug traffickers died during a shootout with law enforcement. The heads of the two -- who were involved in the Jan. 27 shootout -- were accompanied by sign that warned, "So that you learn to respect." They were discovered about 3 a.m. in front of the city's Finance Department -- just over a mile from...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 - The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to approve a bill tightening immigration laws in the name of border security. The main provisions of the bill, which passed 261 to 161, block states from issuing standard drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants and make it easier for judges to expel asylum seekers. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Republican of Wisconsin and sponsor of the bill, said that the measures were necessary to fulfill recommendations of the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Noting that several of the men involved in those attacks were...

At this morning's White House press conference, President Bush was asked a question about his plan to reform U.S. immigration policy. In response to the question, the president said, at least half a dozen times, that his proposal entailed allowing workers in other countries to enter or remain in the U.S. legally to fill "jobs that Americans will not do." The White House policy is not to allow follow-up questions at press conferences, however, here are some matters that the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) believes require clarification from President Bush. FAIR has also addressed these questions to President...

National leaders of six conservative organizations yesterday broke with the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, accusing them of spending like "drunken sailors," and had some strong words for President Bush as well...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJanuary 10, 2004 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As the year 2004 begins, America's economy is strong and getting stronger. More Americans than ever own their own homes. More businesses are investing. More manufacturers are seeing increased activity than at any time in the last 20 years. Stock market wealth has increased by more than $3 trillion over the past year. And over the past five months, more than a quarter-million Americans started work at new jobs. In December, the unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, from a high of 6.3...