New York Post        sc       Obama: Being American is 'not a matter of blood or birth'    President Barack Obama said Thursday that being American "is not a matter of blood or birth," but said that "no matter how decent" the 11 million illegal [aliens] in the U.S. are, they should be held accountable for breaking the law. -- Speaking at the American University School of International Service in Washington D.C... [See Amnesty Watch]

Dave Gibson -- The Examiner     They are not "immigrants" Mr. President!     During his much hyped speech at American University on Thursday, President Obama repeatedly used the word "immigrants" to refer to the millions of illegal aliens currently inside this country. Of course, he did so, purposefully, to push yet again, for an amnesty for those illegal aliens, even though the majority of the American people object to the proposed policy...

TheNewsGals.com      Amnesty Skulduggery: Obama 'under pressure'    ...Latino leaders have also stated their intent on making immigration reform a very public and divisive issue, hoping to force Republicans to support immigration bills. According to Eliseo Medina, a leader of the SEIU, the group' s goal is to make it very clear who supports immigration legislation [amnesty] and who does not... [See Obama Watch]

KGO-AM -- San Francisco  Audio Report    Rick Oltman of CAPS talks about illegal immigration in Novato, Calif.    MP3 File -- This program aired on July 1, 2010.

National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers          Latest NAFBPO update from south of the border    Patricia Espinosa, Mexico's Chancellor (Sec. of State), criticized Jan Brewer, the Governor of Arizona, who linked the "Mexican migratory phenomenon with organized crime and drug traffic." Espinosa answered that, "There are efforts that aim to criminalize [illegal aliens.... criminals] and they do not acknowledge their contributions to United States society."

East Valley Tribune -- Phoenix      Federal judge to hear arguments July 22 on whether to stop SB 1070    A federal judge will hear arguments July 22 on whether to allow Arizona's tough new law aimed at illegal immigrants take effect. -- U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton will consider a request by three civil rights groups to place the law on hold while the issue of its legality is litigated. They argue that the law...

Californians for Population Stabilization      Obama trots out same tired pro-amnesty propaganda    In a major speech on immigration, President Obama repeated his call for an amnesty under the guise of comprehensive immigration reform [amnesty]. He characterized his amnesty plan as a "pathway for legal status" and blamed the "pressure of partisanship and election year politics" for derailing his plans....

KOTV -- Tulsa      State lawmaker says border war is spreading to Oklahoma    Oklahoma City -- The recent arrest of an alleged high-ranking member of a Mexican cartel in Oklahoma City has one lawmaker looking to strengthen and expand on Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law. -- On Tuesday the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics busted several suspected drug traffickers, including a high-ranking member of the cartel. The bust is part of two month long investigation.

Los Angeles Times      Immigration raid at factory leads to 43 arrests    Production resumed Wednesday at a manufacturing plant in Fullerton [Calif.] after an immigration raid that resulted in the arrests of 43 workers and the temporary shutdown of the facility. --- Immigration agents executed a search warrant at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, according to Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for U.S. ICE...

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher -- Fox News           sc      Team Obama's wacky priorities on illegal aliens and jobs    Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis recently released a taxpayer funded bilingual public service announcement advertising a hotline established for workers, documented and "undocumented," to call in to if they believe they are not being "fairly" compensated. -- At a time when the nation is facing double digit unemployment in many places...

Los Angeles Times      More California school districts edging closer to insolvency, state says    An increasing number of California school districts are edging closer to financial insolvency, state officials reported Tuesday. -- One immediate effect has been teacher layoffs — probably in the thousands, although neither state officials nor the California Teachers Assn. have final numbers... [See Cal Meltdown Watch]

Arizona Republic -- Phoenix      Arizona lawmaker rips Obama's pro-amnesty twaddle    A prominent Arizona legislator says he's "offended" by President Barack Obama's speech on immigration [read: amnesty], including what Obama said about Arizona's controversial enforcement law. -- Republican Rep. John Kavanagh called Obama's address in Washington Thursday a "political speech" that, in Kavanagh's words, "probably annoyed everybody."

Patrick Cleburne -- VDare.com     Sotomayor (and Kagan?) Lies: The answer    I don't think anyone is surprised how SCOTUS Justice Sonia 'the Wise Latina' Sotomayor voted in the Chicago Gun Ban Case (McDonald v. Chicago)... -- What is surprising is the boldness with which she lied during her vetting as a SCOTUS nominee about her 'understanding' of an INDIVIDUAL RIGHT to keep and bear arms as SCOTUS decided in 'Heller.'

Washington Times     Obama tries to put Republicans on amnesty hot seat    Seeking to inject urgency into the push for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws [read: amnesty], President Obama on Thursday called on Republicans to join the effort, telling them he can't pass a bill without them. -- After pushing through an economic stimulus bill and health care with barely any Republican support...

Live Shots      More Insanity: Son of Hamas founder granted asylum in U.S.    Mosab Hassan was more shocked than anyone when a Department of Homeland Security official announced in immigration court today that government officials had changed their mind about him. -- Yesterday they saw him as a "threat to U.S. national security." Today they say he's welcome to stay in the United States and become a citizen...

WVLT-TV -- Knoxville, Tenn.      ACLU issues travel warning for those headed to Arizona     In response to civil liberties threats caused by the recent passage of Arizona's racial profiling law, the ACLU of Tennessee issued a travel alert today informing residents of their rights when stopped by law enforcement while traveling in Arizona. Arizona's unconstitutional law requires law enforcement agents to demand "papers" from people they stop who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S... [Related item]

Elise Foley -- Washington Independent    Low expectations for Obama's immigration nattering    President Obama' s planned speech on immigration reform tomorrow has been lauded as indication of a renewed commitment to immigration reform [aka amnesty], as have his meetings early this week with advocates and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. So what will the president say? Unfortunately for reform advocates, not much that' s new...

Fox News      Obama pushes for 'national standard' on illegals, urges GOP to back amnesty  Prodding Republicans to get onboard, President Obama on Thursday called on Congress to tackle a comprehensive immigration overhaul [aka amnesty] and warned that a failure to do so could trigger a harmful "patchwork" of local laws similar to the one recently passed in Arizona...

CNN     Obama calls for amnesty, repeats "broken system" nonsense    President Obama called Thursday for comprehensive immigration reform [read: amnesty], noting that people nationwide "have expressed frustration with [an immigration] system that seems fundamentally broken." -- The president urged Congress to tackle immigration reform legislation, but he noted that it would require support from Democrats and Republicans...

Fox News      Judge to hear officers' request to block immigration law    Phoenix -- SB 1070 is scheduled to take effect July 29, but now a judge will consider whether to block the new law before it takes effect in order to see how lawsuits play out. -- A hearing is set for July 15 at the federal courthouse during which U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton will hear arguments on the injunction...

Matthew Faraci -- Human Events         sc       Kagan downplays Declaration of Independence    Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan made the extraordinary admission to Sen. Tom Coburn (R.-Okla.) that she doesn't "have a view as to what natural rights are" as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. -- Her comments came in answering a question from the senator on the right to bear arms. Sen. Coburn asked... [See Obama Watch]

NBC -- Columbus, Ohio     Poll shows support for Arizona-type immigration law    A new poll of voters shows support for an Arizona-style immigration crackdown in Ohio. -- In the survey released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University, 48 percent of Ohio voters say they approve of Arizona's tough new immigration law. It requires police to question a person's immigration status if there's reason to suspect the person is in the country illegally...

Kyle Wingfield -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution      Why Kagan should be filibustered    Senators should filibuster Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. Here's why. -- It' s not because of her mostly empty answers to the mostly easy questions posed by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee during this week's hearings. It' s not even because she hinted at an extremely expansive view of Congress's ability to put mandates on our everyday lives... [See Gun Grabber Watch & Obama Watch]

Associated Press       'Cross-border gunfire' raises Texas security fears    El Paso -- A deadly shootout between gunmen and Mexican police that left seven bullet holes in El Paso City Hall has renewed calls for tighter border security, even as local authorities say little can be done to stop stray bullets from crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. -- Texas AG Greg Abbott wrote President Barack Obama on Wednesday to say... [Related item]

Washington Post      Obama seems strongly committed to "carbon pricing" flimflam    June 29 -- In a private meeting at the White House with a bipartisan group of Senators today, President Obama strongly underscored his desire to include carbon pricing as part of the final package, Dem Senator Jeff Merkley just told me in an interview. -- The news could cheer environmentalists who had come to worry that measures to reduce carbon emissions...

WorldNetDaily.com      'Oppose Obama's stroke-of-the-pen amnesty'    Amnesty for illegal aliens is so unpopular in America today that Congress is afraid to touch it -- especially in an election year, says the organizer of the "No Amnesty Pledge" currently inundating the U.S. Senate with protests on the subject. -- But the threat of legalizing tens of millions of illegal aliens in time for the 2012 presidential election is far from dead, says Joseph Farah... [See Obama Watch]

Glenn Spencer -- American Patrol Report       For the record     Barack Obama' s primary goal in office is the granting of amnesty for illegal aliens, especially Hispanics. All else pales into insignificance. It is his raison de etre. -- If Barack Hussein Obama can find a way to grant a blanket amnesty through his power to pardon, or some other mechanism, he will do it. He will do it even if he knows it means being impeached and removed from office, just so long as he is confident that the new legal status of illegals remains after he is removed...

Jack Cafferty -- CNN      Is amnesty possible without first sealing the border?    Don't expect too much when President Obama delivers a speech about immigration reform [today]. -- Officials say he won't introduce any new policy initiatives and won't announce whether the federal government has decided to sue Arizona. -- Instead expect more of the same, which is nothing. Homeland Security chief, Janet Napolitano, recently said "you're never going to totally seal the border with Mexico."

Politico      Visits to Deepwater Horizon catastrophe gets partisan    Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) wanted to fly 10 lawmakers down to the Gulf of Mexico to see the damage caused by BP' s gigantic oil spill first hand. -- House Democrats said no. -- Scalise' s trip was rejected for a variety of bureaucratic and logistical reasons, but it has also opened a new vein of partisan squabbling over who should be allowed to arrange a trip to view the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill...

Arizona Republic -- Phoenix      Cheap labor hustler Sharry laments illegal alien exodus    ...Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a national organization that champions comprehensive immigration reform [aka amnesty], predicted that Arizona and supporters of its law eventually will end up on the wrong side of U.S. civil-rights history...