True immigration reform must be rooted in reality

By Leonard Pitts Jr. The Miami Herald Here's how you fix illegal immigration. Pass a bill that: (a) toughens border security; (b) creates some mechanism to tame the Draconian process that now faces anyone who seeks to come here legally; (c) penalizes those who are here illegally but also offers them a path to full citizenship. Or, pass a bill to protect us from anchor babies. The former solution is not mine, though I support it. It was actually the solution offered by President ...

Escondido’s city-federal effort to oust illegal immigrants draws praise, criticism

By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times Reporting from Escondido — It was just an inconvenient traffic stop on the way through town for Javier Barrera Saldivar. Police had spotted the broken tail light on his car, and he figured he'd get a fix-it ticket and be on his way. But federal immigration officers soon rolled up, wielding handcuffs and Barrera's mug shot on a cellphone. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been stationed at the Police Department of this San Diego C...

Facebook outcry over iPhone immigrant game

A Facebook campaign has been started to ban an iPhone and iPad game in which players drive illegal immigrants over the border from Mexico into the United States. The game, called “Smuggle Truck — Operation Immigration” is due to be launched in March. But many have already vented their anger on Facebook. “I know it’s a game, but human suffering is no joke to me,” said one poster. Gamers are challenged to drive a truck through rocky border terrain making sure nobody falls out. When ...

Trial of anti-illegal immigration activist accused in killings spotlights tense climate along border

By Krissah Thompson Washington Post Staff Writer After Arizona rancher Robert Krentz was killed on his land last year by a man police believe was an illegal immigrant, television networks and more than 300 newspapers wrote about his death as an example of the dangers on the border. Nine months before Krentz was killed, 9-year-old Brisenia Flores and her father, Raul, were shot to death in their home, 150 miles from Krentz's ranch. Their attackers were allegedly affiliated with an m...

Why can’t we prosecute every undocumented immigrant?

Due to the sheer number of arrests made every year by the Border Patrol, Immigration Courts are just as bogged down in procedure, legal wrangling, and politics as any other criminal court. Patrolling the Border with Thane Gallagher When meeting with local police officers and deputies in the field, I often get the question “why aren’t all illegal immigrants charged criminally” or “why aren’t they all deported?” Unfortunately for me, the issue is so extensively complicated that to...

Immigration report: No rush across border to give birth

By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY Republican lawmakers in Congress and in more than a dozen state legislatures are trying to alter the interpretation of the 14th Amendment so that the children of illegal immigrants born in the USA are no longer granted citizenship. When announcing a plan for state legislation, a group led by Pennsylvania state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe claimed "hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens are crossing U.S. borders to give birth and exploit their child" to obtain citizen...