U-T: Threatening note found near critically injured mother

By Susan Shroder and Pauline Repard EL CAJON — A 32-year-old woman was critically injured and not expected to survive after an assault in her El Cajon home on Wednesday, police said Friday, and a threatening note telling the mother of five to go back to her home country was found near her, a family friend said. The woman’s 17-year-old daughter found her unconscious in the dining room of the house on Skyview Street off Lemon Avenue about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, said El Cajon police Lt. Steve Shak...

Immigrant hunting? What’s happening to my country?

Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a CNN.com contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist. San Diego, California (CNN) -- What is it about immigration? It brings out the best in America. And yet, talking about it brings out the worst in many Americans. The United States is becoming withdrawn and bitter, and the national mood is becoming uglier. It's nothing new. We live in a country that has -- for more than 220 years -- held the curious distinction of being a nation of imm...

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...

Mother describes border vigilante killings in Arizona

By Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times Gina Gonzalez says her 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia Flores, pleaded for her life. Opening arguments begin in the trial of Shawna Forde of the Minutemen movement, who is accused in the killing of the girl and her father. Reporting from Tucson — As her mother tells it, 9-year-old Brisenia Flores had begged the border vigilantes who had just broken into her house, "Please don't shoot me." But they did — in the face at point-blank range, prosecut...

Amy Goodman: A Tale of Two Sheriffs

By Amy Goodman The Tucson massacre that left six dead and 14 injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, brought into sharp public focus the local sheriff, Clarence Dupnik. He’s been the sheriff of Pima County, which includes Tucson, Arizona’s second-largest city, for 30 years. For the 20 years before that, he was a police officer. Dupnik has gained attention this week for linking the shooting to the vitriolic political climate in the U.S., and in particular, Arizona. Speaking at a ...