Free Republic

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The mayor of Hazleton has long cited the May 2006 shooting death of a 29-year-old city man as the impetus for his widely emulated crackdown on illegal immigrants. But on Friday, prosecutors dropped homicide charges against the two illegal immigrants accused of shooting Derek Kichline , depriving Mayor Lou Barletta of one of his key arguments for kicking illegal immigrants out of Hazleton. Luzerne County prosecutors said they abandoned the case against Joan Romero and Pedro Cabrera because key witnesses were either unavailable or unreliable, not because they were convinced of Romero's and Cabrera's innocence. But Barletta's...

Latino rights activists want to shield families from federal sweeps. But some council members doubt it would accomplish much. ... On June 22, 175 people were arrested in Orange County on immigration violations during a five-day campaign, the largest single enforcement for immigration fugitives in Orange County... "The arrests make you think that Santa Ana is more vulnerable than other communities and it may be a good idea to make it a sanctuary city where immigrants do not have to be concerned about increased enforcement activity," said Amin David, who heads Los Amigos of Orange County, a civic group... A...

http://www.cbs46.com/video/13630039/index.html

BASALT — The Basalt 7-Eleven clerk who may have been the target of a shooting there last week said he was placed on one week’s paid leave of absence Saturday by the corporation. Bruno Kirchenwitz said he was placed on leave while “some guy from Dallas is going to come down and check it out.” The convenience store corporation is based in Dallas. Kirchenwitz said he has no reason to believe his job is in jeopardy. He noted that he works 32 hours per week at the store and was given 40 hours of pay during the leave. Margaret Chabris,...