Free Speech Under Fire

Free speech advocate: New guideline on sexual harassment at universities threatens First Amendment
AP

The Obama administration’s Departments of Justice and Education earlier this month issued new guidance on sexual harassment on college campuses that is so broad it makes nearly every student a harasser, according to a nonpartisan group that specializes in campus speech codes.

Abandoned

Hurricane Sandy victims struggle to regain normalcy
Hurricane Sandy damage / AP

Frustration has now turned to anger for many Hurricane Sandy victims after living in limbo for more than six months, and they say the slow response and inaction by the Obama administration is taking its toll.

Pay to Pray

Chaplain offers bounty for prayer during graduation
AP

A former Navy chaplain is offering a reward to any student who says a prayer during a graduation ceremony at a school in Florida following the threat of a lawsuit by an atheist group aimed at banning religious utterances from the event.

Get Out of Jail Free Card

Obama policies resulting in release of criminal illegal immigrants
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano speaks in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office in Texas on immigration and border security / AP

Deportation statistics touted by the Obama administration came under fire earlier this month when experts testifying in federal court suggested that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is artificially inflating the numbers of deported illegal immigrants who have committed crime.

Illegal Immigration’s Impact

New Jersey town struggles under weight of illegal immigration
Padro Garcia waits for work with fellow illegal immigrant day laborers Thursday, July 22, 2010 (AP)

An estimated 550,000 illegal immigrants call New Jersey home, good for the fifth-highest population in any state—and the financial burden they impose on taxpayers is causing concern.

Trickle Down Immigration

Report: Immigration rises, poor hardest hit
Migrant worker in Georgia 2011 / AP

The poorest and least-skilled in America suffer the most from legal and illegal immigration as competition for jobs reduces wages, according to a new report by a leading immigration economist.

In Memory

Hundreds gather at park opening to honor Sandy Hook victim
ceremony 046

Hundreds gathered in a New Jersey town on Friday morning to open a playground that will memorialize one of the young victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and offer hope to children affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Agents Take Pay Cuts, Detainees Get Hair Cuts

Millions spent on providing detained illegal immigrants with creature comforts as DHS cuts agent pay
Detainees play soccer at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia / AP

Border patrol agents are facing salary cuts, gas rationing, and other constraints in the face of budget cuts driven by the sequester even as detained illegal immigrants live in detention centers replete with comforts reminiscent of college campuses.

The Perfect Amnesty Storm

Confluence of actions by Obama administration may prompt flood of illegal immigrants, experts say
U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego, Calif. / AP

The recent release of illegal immigrants in detention, the Obama administration’s renewed push for amnesty, and the planned furlough of thousands of border patrol agents will result in more illegal crossings, according to immigration experts and border officials.

Department of Misplaced Priorities

DHS hires staff, spends money on questionable projects even as it releases illegal immigrants and furloughs border agents
Napolitano (AP)

The Department of Homeland Security’s release of thousands of illegal immigrants from detention centers and its plans to furlough tens of thousands of border agents due to the sequester comes at the same time the agency continues to hire and make questionable expenditures.