Free Republic

Keir Starmer admitted he must bring down immigration today after shock figures showed the annual record has been smashed again. The PM insisted Britain can no longer be a 'soft touch' after huge revisions to official data showed net inflows were 906,000 in the year to June 2023. Arrivals in the 12 months to June this year were 728,000 higher than those leaving the country. In itself that was almost as much as the previous long-term immigration record. But the bar has been dramatically shifted upwards by the Office for National Statistics, with net migration for the year to June...

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — This city is besieged by a lie. Mayor Rob Rue could not meet with me at his office because of a series of anonymous bomb threats that shut down schools, hospitals and the municipal center. One morning this week, I watched as eight police cars sped up to City Hall and officers rushed inside, investigating the latest threat; it turned out to be a false alarm, like all the others. So far.Amid a crisis that is fundamentally about Springfield’s racial and cultural diversity, an annual celebration of that diversity called CultureFest set for later this month had...

Haitian migrants residing in Springfield, Ohio, shared with ABC News their harrowing experiences of living in constant fear, expressing deep concerns about their safety that prevent them from venturing outside their homes. In a town of more than 58,000 residents, threats of bombings and shootings led to the closure of city buildings and schools for several days. Wittenberg University canceled all activities on Sunday and classes on Monday as a precautionary measure. James Fleurijean, a Haitian Community Help & Support Center member, stated that the continual spread of false and divisive statements from prominent politicians was fostering an environment of...

Charleroi, Pennsylvania, a small town of roughly 4,200 residents, has found itself at the heart of an immigration crisis. Over the past two years, the migrant population has surged by a staggering 2,000%, primarily due to an influx of Haitian immigrants. This massive growth is linked to the Biden administration's expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which allowed migrants from countries like Haiti to seek refuge in the United States. While intended to provide safety for those fleeing dire circumstances, this policy has placed an immense strain on local resources. The once quiet, blue-collar town is now grappling with a...

Police are looking for as many as six or seven Somali men after two joggers were randomly attacked in Fridley. Authorities said two joggers were the victims of what are being labeled as random attacks on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 3:50 p.m. The joggers, both men, were on a path near East River Road and 37th Avenue NE when the attacks took place. Police said one man suffered a bloody nose in the attack and the other has a sore throat. Authorities said these attacks were not robbery attempts and that the suspects randomly approached them and assaulted them....

Pedro Ramirez, Fresno State's student body president, is an undocumented immigrant serving in the position without pay. Ramirez, 23, attends school on scholarships and pays in-state tuition. California is one of 10 states that permit undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition -- a position that was upheld by the state Supreme Court this week. After his election last June, he told the administration he would serve without pay -- a $9,000 stipend -- because he could not lie on employment papers. On Tuesday, an anonymous tip to the college newspaper forced Ramirez to go public.

February 9, 2010 We're Living In Broken Britain, Say Most Voters Peter Riddell Voters are deeply pessimistic about the state of Britain today, believing that society is broken and heading in the wrong direction, a Populus poll for The Times has found. Nearly three fifths of voters say that they hardly recognise the country they are living in, while 42 per cent say they would emigrate if they could. But worries over the pace of social change and dislocation are balanced by the belief that life will get better, according to the survey undertaken at the weekend. It suggests that...

At 7 months old, Kemberly Méndez doesn’t roll over or sit in a propped-up position. Her right thumb is flexed downward; her index finger is a nubbin and the rest of her right-hand fingers are webbed. Her short life has consisted of physical therapy sessions and visits to specialists who are treating her for Poland syndrome, a pattern of one-sided body malformations, usually on the right side, that are present at birth. But all the care Kemberly, a U.S. citizen, is receiving at Erlanger hospital and at the Shriners Hospital in Lexington, Ky., is in limbo because her mother is...

MATTAWA, WASH -- . -- Nearly everyone in this small farming community in eastern Washington speaks Spanish -- nearly everyone except those in city government and the Police Department, where English is spoken. And almost everyone who speaks one language does not speak the other. That language barrier has engulfed the community, which has grown over the last 20 years from 300 to about 3,200 year-round residents. Nine out of 10 Mattawa residents speak Spanish at home, and 8 out of 10 adults speak English "less than very well," according to the 2000 U.S. Census. The Columbia River basin community,...

At war with radical Islam National Post Mon 30 Oct 2006 Page: A13 Section: Issues & Ideas Byline: Lorne Gunter Social housing must be counted as one of the greatest failures -- and there are many -- of the "progressive" thinking of the 1960s and 1970s. Nearly everywhere large public housing projects have been built, they have become incubators for crime, drug dependence, fatherless families, unemployment and welfare. Rather than lifting minorities out of poverty, social housing has herded them together where they are easier prey for bad people and bad ideas. So, at least some of the troubles...

CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, France - Marauding youths torched hundreds of vehicles overnight and on Saturday in renewed violence coinciding with the first anniversary of riots that exposed a deep schism between poor North African immigrants and mainstream France. A group of teenagers set one bus on fire Saturday in the southern French port city of Marseille, seriously wounding a passenger. Three others suffered from smoke inhalation, police said. Two other public buses and 277 vehicles around the country were burned overnight, police said. Six police were injured and 47 people were arrested, ministry officials said. Still the Interior Ministry described the night...

Britain is embroiled in a fierce debate over British Muslim women who wear a niqab--an opaque veil that covers a woman's entire face. Many British Muslims have expressed outrage that a public schoolteacher was ordered to remove her veil--while many other Britons have defended the school, criticized the wearing of niqabs, and called for the greater assimilation of Muslims into British society. "Britons are absolutely right to criticize the niqab," said Alex Epstein, junior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. "It is a demeaning, barbaric article of clothing that inculcates shame in women, depriving them of individuality and femininity." "But...

The French housing estates hit by a wave of riots a year ago could once again descend into violence, an intelligence report has warned. The conditions that led to the 2005 unrest are still in place, it says. The warning comes just days before the anniversary of the first riots, following the death of two youths in an estate north-east of Paris. Recent weeks have seen a rise in clashes between police and youths in the capital's immigrant suburbs. The report by the intelligence agency of the interior ministry, dated 11 October, was leaked to the Figaro newspaper. The BBC's...

French police face 'permanent intifada' By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 15 minutes ago On a routine call, three unwitting police officers fell into a trap. A car darted out to block their path, and dozens of hooded youths surged out of the darkness to attack them with stones, bats and tear gas before fleeing. One officer was hospitalized, and no arrests made. The recent ambush was emblematic of what some officers say has become a near-perpetual and increasingly violent conflict between police and gangs in tough, largely immigrant French neighborhoods that were the scene of a three-week paroxysm...

Legalization for aliens a 'must,' Bush announces President keeps status talks going while entrance laws remain unenforced Posted: October 11, 2006 © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com President Bush says that part of the solution to illegal immigration "must" include a way for those already in the United States but without legal authorization to be given that status. "We will conduct this debate on immigration in a way that is respectful to our heritage," he said at a recent White House event honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. "We are a nation of law, and we will enforce our law. "But at the same time,...

Reports of riots heavily exaggerated Riots and demolition. Smashed windows and devastated shopping centers. It turned out to be nothing less than hype. How could it happen? Malin Sahlström, secretary of press with the Västra Götaland Police Authority gives an explanation to the whole thing. - No official spokesperson was on duty. He left at 18.00 and afterwards, emergency call centre operators themselves took care of external relations like contact with the media and they’re not qualified for this responsibility. We’re supposed to be open towards the media, but according to what I’ve heard, the operators yesterday recieved equal numbers...

LGF reader Enlil from Gothenburg, Sweden, sent the following disturbing note: Tonight there were power shortages all over Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg. “Youth gangs” took the opportunity, spreading the European tradition of “Ramadan Riots.” Within an hour most schools and commercial centers in the north eastern suburbs were vandalized. - It’s complete chaos in north eastern Gothenburg. “We’ve sent all available police units but there’s no way we can stop the vandalisation,” police spokesman Frank Karlsson tells gp.se. - Several youth gangs are wandering about smashing windows and breaking into schools, malls, banks and a retirement center. Not a...

SHREVEPORT, La. - A Dallas roofer suspected of raping a newlywed woman after tying up her husband at their Shreveport apartment has been captured in Texas. Alfredo Rodriguez Gonzalez, 29, was arrested over the weekend in New Braunfels by a fugitive task force, authorities said. He was being held pending an extradition hearing on an aggravated rape charge. Authorities also said immigration authorities have placed a hold on Gonzalez because he is in the United States illegally. The alleged rape happened Sept. 9 at an apartment complex where Gonzalez had been working, investigators said. The attack took place after two...

SANTA ANA – At least one Orange County Sheriff's deputy is being investigated for reportedly turning over three women to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, potentially violating department policy and straining relations between Sheriff Mike Carona and immigration advocates. The women, who worked as housekeepers and were accused of theft, voluntarily returned to Mexico last week rather than face deportation. Dropped off in Tijuana, the women were divided from their families at a time when Carona is attempting to sell Latino activists on a plan to allow jailers and detectives to hand over serious felons in the U.S. illegally for...

Nearly half of those polled say they have become more skeptical about Islam as a religion after the global uproar around the Mohammed caricatures. The result comes from a survey carried out by InFact for Norway's best-selling newspaper VG. According to the survey, which was carried out on Tuesday, 47.8 percent of those asked said they were more skeptical about Islam, while 36.7 percent their opinion of the religion had not been affected by the caricature controversy. A small group of 6.5 percent said they were less skeptical about Islam after the turmoil. At the same time, 30.8 percent say...