Free Republic

Adam Garcia wants everyone to know he never burned the American flag, which is one of the rumors he’s heard about himself. Watch Tribune reporter Nicole Birk's report Related Links Immigration tensions spark flag-burning Today's Top Stories News The 16-year-old is the Apache Junction High School sophomore who brought a Mexican flag to campus Thursday. He said he got the idea from friends to hoist it on one of three flagpoles there. It was before school, and before an American flag had been raised. “I wouldn’t have taken it down if it had been there, because I’m proud of that...

Tensions over immigration reform heightened in the Phoenix area's East Valley Thursday when students raised a Mexican flag over Apache Junction High School — and then other students yanked it down and burned it. "I know (they) shouldn't have burned the Mexican flag," said Jacob Stewart, a 16-year-old sophomore. "I heard it was raised above the American flag and that just irked me." He said the turbulence was tied to debates going on in the state Legislature and Congress, where ideas ranging from offering illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship to making them felons are being floated. Freshman Chelsea Garcia,...

Apache Junction High School students went through a Friday steeped in racial tension, confusion and ultimately, a partial reversal by an administrator who tried to calm things down. The day began with emotions high, a day after an incident in which Hispanic students raised a Mexican flag on a school flagpole only to see it taken down and burned by Anglo classmates. A shoving match ensued. On Friday, students wore Mexican and American flags to school as tension between Hispanics and Anglos reached a near-riot pitch, some said. The situation caused Superintendent Greg Wyman to create a new policy: No...

This week’s tensions over immigration reform literally caught fire in the East Valley on Thursday when students raised a Mexican flag over Apache Junction High School — and then other students yanked it down and burned it. “I know (they) shouldn’t have burned the Mexican flag,” said Jacob Stewart, a 16-year-old sophomore. “I heard it was raised above the American flag and that just irked me.” He said the turbulence was tied to the newsmaking debates in the state Legislature and in Congress, where ideas from offering illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship to making them felons are being considered....