Free Republic

This caught my eye several months ago and its a good way of enforcing immigration law.This may give you the added tool to enforce immigration law. From the Backrounder In 1996, Congress expanded the Racketeer influenced and Corrupt Organization(RICO) to include violations of federal immigration law. While this expansion may not recieved publicity, it could potentially change the face of U.S. immigration law eforcement. Under the new RICO provisions, a violation of certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act(INA) meets the definition of racketeering activity, also know an "predicate offenses" and an entity that engages in a pattern of...

BURBANK -- Protests and demonstrations at the Home Depot day labor center have racked up law enforcement costs of more than $46,000, prompting worries that the extra costs are a burden on city coffers. Between Sept. 30 and April 21, Burbank Police responded to 11 incidents involving anti-illegal immigration protests against center, which offers employment assistance to workers who are often not United States citizens, according to a Burbank Police memo. The memo has raised questions from residents about the purpose of the $94,000 annual fee that Home Depot pays to the city, intended to cover costs related to the...

Day laborers who solicit work at Home Depot in Boston will continue to face police scrutiny because they are trespassing on private property and have drawn complaints from customers, a police official said yesterday. Capt. Paul Russell, who commands the South Boston police district, acknowledged the issue has the potential to spark strong emotions amid the nation’s roiling debate over illegal immigration, but he also said the law is clear. “It’s basically private property and we are giving them no trespassing orders based on the requests of retailers and the management company.” Russell said of day laborers who gather outside...

Pupils launch bid to save Americans $2.3B in electric costs; seek Oprah's help in plan to dole out lightbulbs Qiana Marks and 200 other North Babylon students hope to save the Earth - and also save the American public $2.3 billion in electric costs. It's all part of a campaign begun yesterday in the Robert Moses Middle School to "fight global warming one lightbulb at a time," said Kenny Luna, eighth-grade science teacher. Luna and his students want to give an energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulb to every school child in America, "all 50 million between pre-kindergarten and 12th grade." They're...

– Eight day-laborers could face deportation after police arrested them in front of a Home Depot store on Friday, triggering more debate over the role of local police in enforcing federal immigration laws. Orange police said such arrests are not uncommon, but a Home Depot spokeswoman said they were the first she'd heard of at a Southern California store. The arrests come amid tension over Costa Mesa's plans to become the first city in the nation to take on federal powers to deport felony suspects. The Orange County Sheriff's Department is considering a similar proposal to remove undocumented immigrants who...

WATSONVILLE — They hang out in front of Home Depot on Green Valley Road. Their presence has been met with disdain by some neighbors, but relief by general contractors when they need to get something done. And get it done fast and cheap. They are day laborers — guys who mostly hail from Mexico and are looking to make a buck at a time when there's a lull in agriculture work in the Pajaro Valley.

(AP) LOS ANGELES The immigrant day laborers who wait for work on street corners across the United States have families and attend church regularly, and the people who hire them are more likely to be individual homeowners than construction contractors. The first nationwide study of day laborers also found that one in five has been injured on the job and nearly half have been cheated out of pay. The study, the most detailed snapshot to date of the mostly Hispanic and often undocumented immigrants who've become a focal point in the immigration debate, was based on interviews of 2,660 workers...

With a copy of the Quran and a Palestinian flag in his trunk, a Jordanian-turned-U.S. citizen crashed his car into a Home Depot in Arizona where he formerly worked, igniting an explosive blaze in the stores' paint section and causing $1 million in damage. The Dec. 18 attack in Chandler, Ariz., by 24-year-old Ali R. Warrayat was a carefully planned "personal statement," the East Valley Tribune

The Job Center closes today. Some laborers will leave area; others will find new places in town to seek work. COSTA MESA -- Today is the beginning of an uncertain time for workers who use the city's Job Center. At 11 a.m., the center closes for good after 17 years of operation. The City Council chose earlier this year to shutter the facility, which connects day laborers and employers. At the time, Mayor Allan Mansoor said employment services should be provided by the private sector, not the government. Without the center, workers will be forced to move on, and for...

The following story is based on witness accounts and a police report released Wednesday. He placed both hands on the steering wheel, stared straight ahead and barrelled toward the front entrance of Home Depot. Ali R. Warrayat hadn’t slept in days, planning this moment down to the last detail. Now, his face was void of any expression. A store employee jumped out of the car’s path. To drown out the man’s yells, Warrayat reached over to his car radio and blasted Arabic music before crashing through the front doors. The scene was only the beginning of a violent rampage through...

Glendale, Calif. -- One person was arrested during a protest Saturday outside Home Depot as groups clashed over the placement of day laborer centers near some of the home improvement chain's stores. About 200 people gathered outside the store, including members of the anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State, which has staged similar protests against Home Depot in other parts of Southern California. While the protest grew heated at some points with both sides screaming and yelling over one another, only one person was arrested for allegedly pushing someone, police said. There were no reports of any injuries. Save Our...

They've become as much a holiday tradition as wreaths and egg nog -- the Salvation Army bell ringers you see around town. But Salvation Army officials say it's getting harder and harder to find places to ring their bells, and it is costing them big. The Salvation Army says it's getting harder each year to find major businesses willing to allow bell ringers to stand outside their business. Over the past few years, Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot and Toys R Us have removed bell ringers from their property. All of those stores had a large customer base willing...

Washington DC, Dec. 09, 2005 (CNA) - Intervening in the heated debate about the mention of Christmas on the public square, Concerned Women for America (CWA) presented a first Christmas list showing which businesses are honouring the Reason for the Season (the birth of Jesus), which ones are not, and which have mixed records. It first lists the corporation ‘Nice’ or friendly to the Original Christmas tradition.  This year Macy's joins the NICE list because it has returned the explicit mention of Christmas and Merry Christmas to its stores and its ads. L.L. Bean, on the other hand, just barely...

HOLIDAY BLUESLowe's listens: 'Christmas trees' Chain dumps 'holiday' reference after WND report, complaints One day after a WorldNetDaily story brought national exposure, the home-improvement retailer Lowe's dropped references to "Holiday Trees" in favor of "Christmas Trees" only. As WND reported, a Lowe's store in Austin, Texas, featured a banner that referred in English to "Holiday Trees" but in Spanish said "Christmas Trees." The American Family Association says its supporters contacted Lowe's to express their displeasure. The company responded in a statement: "To ensure consistency of our message and to avoid confusion among our customers, we are now referring to the...

Home Depot did the math and has decided not to ban a Lawrence man for a year after he accidentally walked out of a Metheun store with a 41-cent, used pencil in his pocket Thursday. “We will not be pursuing any claims against Mr. Panorelli for this incident,” read a statement from Home Depot. “We welcome Mr. Panorelli back as a customer in our stores at any time.” On Thursday, Michael Panorelli, 51, a regular customer, was treated like a common thief by the store’s security detail and, despite a corporate apology, he’s fuming. “That apology doesn’t mean much to...

(CBS4) METHUEN, MA-- Home repair giant Home Depot is getting hammered by the public over a dispute with a customer. The customer is a handyman from Lawrence. On Saturday, he was banished from all Home Depot stores, apparently over a pencil. Now, the store is releasing a statement to apologize for the incident. The used pencil wasn't even for sale. It was out at a register when Michael Panorelli borrowed it and put it in his pocket. Home Depot barred Panorelli from all its stores. It was a 41-cent carpenter's pencil, but the small piece of wood is causing one...

(CBS4) METHUEN-- A Lawrence man has been banned from all Home Depots for one year after accidentally walking out of the store with a sharpened pencil he used to write down some notes after buying over $100 worth of lumber. Michael Panorelli, 51, was with the owner of Salas Auto Repair, George Salas, when the incident occurred. The Eagle-Tribune is reporting that Panorelli and Salas were heading to the parking lot of the Methuen Home Depot when the store’s security guard stopped the two men. Apparently Panorelli put the pencil he used to take notes into his pocket and forgot...

True Value Hardware last night ran a commerical for the Holiday's actually mentioning "MERRY CHRISTMAS" I was stunned seeing this with all the PC stuff being bantered about lately. It makes me very happy I had picked up some electrical hardware at my local True Value store last weekend. Kudos to True Value!

ATLANTA - The whale sharks are kings of the 6-million-gallon tank, their presence palpable even before they emerge from the murky darkness like massive star cruisers in a science fiction film. But once visitors to the new Georgia Aquarium have seen Ralph and Norton — the only whale sharks on display outside of Asia — they will still have at least 99,998 more fish to go. When the aquarium opens Nov. 23, it will become the world's largest by virtually all major standards of the industry. It was bankrolled almost exclusively by a $200 million gift from Home Depot Inc....

AUSTIN - The Home Depot is facing a knotty problem figuring out where to put one important part of the home-improvement business: the dozens of day laborers who gather outside its stores here and across the nation. Morning after morning in city after city, contractors as well as homeowners needing an extra hand or two drive up to a Home Depot and hire laborers to paint walls, nail down roofing or trim branches, usually for $8 to $10 an hour. Not only has this caused friction between the stores and neighboring businesses and homeowners who do not want the men...