Free Republic

In recent years if you were an illegal immigrant in L.A., and there are many of you, you faced losing your car for at least 30 days if you were stopped by the LAPD. Under the urging of then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the department last year changed that policy and said you could pretty much keep your car if you hadn't done anything else wrong. The policy, called Special Order 7, was challenged by the police union and a citizen, and today a local judge ruled against the LAPD: L.A. Superior Court Judge Terry Green said that the LAPD's policy was...

PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano said Friday she might veto the state's entire $8.2 billion budget over a dispute with the Republican-controlled Legislature on funding to teach English. A veto would force the Legislature, which adjourned about 1:15 Friday morning after 123 days, to return in a special session. Napolitano said the budget deal negotiated with the GOP leadership a week earlier included an "understanding" that Republicans "would sit down and negotiate a Flores resolution with the Democrats." That refers to a 14-year-old lawsuit in which a federal judge ruled Arizona was not meeting its legal obligation to provide adequate...

Gov. Janet Napolitano defended her immigration record Wednesday amid criticism of several recent vetoes and increasing expectations the GOP will paint her as weak on border issues in next year's election. Last year, Napolitano opposed Proposition 200, which denies welfare benefits to illegals and was approved by voters. She also favors allowing illegal immigrants to receive state driver's licenses. This year the Democrat has vetoed several conservative immigration-related bills this year including measures: * Requiring federal, state or tribal identification to be presented in order to receive government services. * Tightening up identification requirements for prospective voters. * Making English...

By Michael Marizco ARIZONA DAILY STAR Seven members of a "significant" migrant smuggling ring that operated in Tucson and Mammoth were arrested by federal agents Monday. The seven people arrested are part of a larger group that moved hundreds of people across the Arizona border to states as far away as Florida. The organization used at least four Tucson homes to stash people, and used Western Union to collect a fee from family members of the illegal border crossers it smuggled across. The migrant smugglers admitted to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that they collected $430,000 in wire transfers,...