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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A 23-year-old Mexican woman with three American-born children, including one just three weeks old, will return voluntarily to Mexico after what supporters call a harrowing experience with authorities during a traffic stop. Miriam Aviles-Reyes, an illegal immigrant, and the human rights group Derechos Humanos say a Tucson police officer was abusive and called the Border Patrol without necessary cause.

PHOENIX -- Arizona steel fabricator Sheridan Bailey has been laying off employees in recent weeks even though he has plenty of orders on the books. His firm, Ironco Enterprises, shed around 10 percent of its 100-strong workforce to get in line with a state law going into effect on Tuesday that targets employers who hire illegal immigrants. "We have let some people go who we came to know were not properly documented. So in that respect the law is already doing what the framers expected," he said. The maker of steel frames for buildings is among an estimated 150,000 businesses...

U.S. illegal immigrants 'self deport' as woes mount Sun Dec 23, 2007 7:22pm EST By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX (Reuters) - Mexican illegal immigrant Lindi sat down with her husband Marco Antonio in the weeks before Christmas to decide when to go back to Mexico. She has spent three years working as a hairdresser in and around Phoenix, but now she figures it is time to go back to her hometown of Aguascalientes in central Mexico. "The situation has got so tough that there don't seem to be many options left for us," Lindi, who asked for her last name not...

Mexican illegal immigrant Lindi sat down with her husband Marco Antonio in the weeks before Christmas to decide when to go back to Mexico. She has spent three years working as a hairdresser in and around Phoenix, but now she figures it is time to go back to her hometown of Aguascalientes in central Mexico. "The situation has got so tough that there don't seem to be many options left for us," Lindi, who asked for her last name not to be used, told Reuters. The couple are among a growing number of illegal immigrants across the United States who...

SEATTLE, WA - For illegal immigrant teenagers with college ambitions, Washington state is the place to be. It's one of only 10 states that offer in-state tuition to undocumented students at public universities and colleges. In most other states, illegal teens have to pay non-resident or international rates. But even though help is available, few students are signing up. Chana Joffe-Walt reports on the barriers to an affordable education. Francisco was the type of kid in high school who could really get in your nerves. The study body president type - uber-energetic, really hard-working and friendly to everyone: I was...

A record 7 million people _ or one in every 32 American adults _ were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday. More than 4.1 million people were on probation and 784,208 were on parole at the end of 2005. Prison releases are increasing, but admissions are increasing more. Men still far outnumber women in prisons and jails, but the female population is growing faster....

They sought citizenship, got walking papersIllegal immigrant couple sue consultant, and win By Jose Luis Jiménez STAFF WRITER August 21, 2006 VISTA – Although they were in the country illegally for many years, a Mexican couple who had planted roots in El Cajon sought to become citizens nearly six years ago. NELVIN C. CEPEDA / Union-Tribune Elias Ventura wouldn't get the same pay in Mexico that he gets here installing tinting on car windows. In the United States since 1989, he considers himself part of the mainstream. Elias and Martha Ventura's three children were born here. The couple pay...

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco has asked for more time to deliver documents to congressional committees about her office's role in Hurricane Katrina preparations and emergency response to the storm. The delay would mean it could be December before internal documents reflecting what was going on behind the scenes are made public. "They have asked for the kitchen sink, which is OK," said Blanco executive counsel Terry Ryder. "But given the fact that we are dealing with Katrina and Rita right now, we have asked for 90 days more." Blanco got a request for information on Sept. 30 from...

Pregnant women in their third trimester, mothers with children older than 1, and about 5,600 disabled people are among the additional 14,000 welfare recipients who would have to work under welfare changes Governor Mitt Romney will propose later this week. Overall, Romney's plan would more than double the number of welfare recipients who have to work, from roughly 12,700 to about 26,700. A total of 49,000 recipients are currently on the state's welfare rolls. The governor's proposal would also ratchet up the hours per week that some recipients must work, and would establish a five-year lifetime limit for receiving benefits.

As Maria watched her children play along the beaches of Moose Lake on Independence Day, she recounted how she nearly made the ultimate sacrifice for their freedom. She crossed the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time in 1979. Over the years, she has kept traveling north, bringing family members with her at times. The 42-year-old woman made the journey from Mexico City again six months ago. Except for the youngest children in her family, who were born in the United States, Maria and her relatives are living illegally in Minneapolis. Her family's greatest fear is deportation. Mindful of this threat,...

Health care for all? Not in America No consensus exists on how to get the job done By Mike McNamee Why can't the richest nation in the world provide health-care coverage to all its people? It's the question that hangs over all debates about medical care and insurance -- particularly in an election year when jobs -- and the employer-based health system that ties insurance to work -- are a key voter concern. The answer: It's not that Americans don't want to cover the 41 million uninsured. And the cost, pegged by Kaiser Commission on Medicaid & the Uninsured at...

We were born at the end of World War II to a generation that had just won a war against pure evil. We were their hope for a brighter future. The forbearers of a new era. An era of peace and prosperity. An era of fun. We had hula-hoops, silly putty, slinkies and slip 'n slides. We ate Spaghetti-o's, Alphabits, TV dinners and Spam. We watched Ed Sullivan, I Love Lucy, The Flintstones and American Bandstand. We witnessed the first manned space flight and prayed for Apollo 13. We saw a man step onto the moon and suffered through the...

CAIRO, March 21, (IslamOnline) - The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation raided several Muslim organizations Wednesday morning, in Virginia, Georgia, and Washington D.C., a prominent Muslim American told IslamOnline Thursday. In an exclusive interview with IslamOnline, Dr. Mohamed S. Omeish, President of the Success Foundation, said that several organizations had been raided, including the Success Foundation, a not-for-profit, charity foundation set up for educational and humanitarian work. The Muslim World League offices were also raided, as well as several Muslim-owned businesses, such as MAR-JAC companies, and Sterling Management. "The raids were all carried out at approximately the same time,...