Free Republic

South Florida school districts say they will be ready for the potential influx of Haitian children following this week's earthquake. The impact on local schools could be significant -- especially if charities move forward with plans to bring thousands of orphaned children to South Florida. The Miami-Dade school district has already drawn up a specific plan, which includes: -Establishing three different locations for students needing to attend school. Children will be screened and tested, and given age-appropriate lessons in Haitian Creole. They'll also have access to psychological and support services. -Readying 320 traditional schools for any new students who may...

Five police officers were killed yesterday in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in a two separate incidents. In the first attack, two officers were killed while on patrol. Witnesses say gunmen killed one officer in his vehicle and the other as he tried to escape. In the second attack, four police officers were shot at while filling up their vehicles at a gas station. Two died on the scene, another died at a local hospital, and the fourth officer is being treated for his injuries. The total number of police officers killed to 47 this year, making it one of the most...

EDITORIAL November 16, 2009 There are 16 million children in immigrant families in the United States, one of the fastest-growing segments of the population. It’s an old American story made new (snip) when waves of human displacement in recent decades have led to immigration on a scale not seen since Ellis Island. But a country that has been so good for so long at integrating new Americans is stumbling under the challenge. That is the conclusion of Professors Marcelo and Carola Suárez-Orozco, fellows at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and co-directors of immigration studies at New York University....

A forthcoming study on Hispanic children’s cognitive skills underlines the challenges the country faces in aspiring to close the achievement gap between these children and their white and Asian counterparts. Hispanic “children fall behind their peers in mental development by the time they reach grade school, and the gap tends to widen as they get older,” reports the New York Times. “The drop-off in the cognitive scores of Hispanic toddlers, especially those from Mexican backgrounds, was steeper than for other [low-income] groups and could not be explained by economic status alone. . . . From 24 to 36 months, the...

Crackdown on 80,000 immigrant wives with free pass to Britain By SIMON WALTERS, POLITICAL EDITOR 01st August 2009 A highly controversial crackdown on immigrants accused of abusing welfare handouts is to be unveiled by Home Secretary Alan Johnson this week. He plans to ban wives brought here, mainly from India and Pakistan, from receiving child benefit and a wide range of other state aid unless they learn English, support British values and do voluntary work in the community. The move could affect up to 80,000 immigrants who are allowed to settle permanently in Britain each year after marrying a UK...