Supporters of Arizona-style immigration legislation made an emotional plea to legislators Wednesday to clamp down on illegal immigration, warning of drug cartels and terrorism if the state fails to act. Security was pervasive on Capitol Hill, as nearly 100 people filled the hearing room and dozens more listened from an overflow room nearby. A show of hands before the meeting indicated about 80 percent of those on hand were supportive of the bill.

Illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes are being denied special visas that aim to encourage their cooperation with police, Valley immigration attorneys say. Called U-Visas, the documents allow immigrants who have endured substantial mental or physical abuse from a crime to stay legally in the U.S. for up to four years if they cooperate with law enforcement. The aim is to encourage the victims, who otherwise may fear deportation, to assist in an investigation.

It hasn\'t been an easy few years for Arturo Morales. The Orem man is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born and raised in Mexico, but as a staunch defender of conservative efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, he\'s come under fire from others of Hispanic descent. The first time came several years ago when he openly supported the re-election of Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem.

A federal investigation of a controversial Arizona sheriff known for tough immigration enforcement has intensified in recent days, escalating the conflict between the Obama administration and officials in the border state.

When I say some of my best friends are Mexicans, I mean it. It’s not a toss-away line, something I would say to endear myself to anyone, especially to other friends who (sadly) lack Mexican friends. I figure that if you grew up in Utah and you weren’t befriended by a Mexican family, you and I are not going to get along. To the chagrin of many small-minded Utahns who hate reading about it, I’m proud of my “dirty Greek” heritage. If I were forced to trade, though, I’d trade to Mexican.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Just one day after he unveiled a harsh Arizona-style immigration proposal for Florida, Attorney General Bill McCollum was obliged to backpedal, conceding a need to consult with ``my supporters in the Hispanic community\'\' about the provisions in his punitive and potentially unconstitutional measure.

WASHINGTON — Daily life for Marlen Lopez sounds anything but easy: The undocumented worker cleans offices to pay her bills and hasn\'t seen her 8-year-old son since she left El Salvador three years ago. Yet Lopez is happy with her job, hopeful about the future and confident her son will one day graduate from college in the United States.

SAN DIEGO — Supposedly, elephants don’t forget. But these days, when it comes to the explosive issue of immigration, I wonder if they even bother to think. Not from the looks of it. Not when top Republicans in Congress are toying with the wacky and wicked idea of rewriting the 14th Amendment to eliminate so-called birthright citizenship.

The word ``immigrant\'\' conceals the truth. Nowhere in the world does anyone want foreigners, different people, except to exploit them. The democrats of Athens called them metekos and denied them almost all their rights

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution speaks in unusually emphatic language: \"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.\" Not most persons or only those who are white or who are born to citizens. All persons.

The immigration crisis is tearing the social fabric of our nation in ways that are far easier to rend than they are to mend. The furor roused across the country by the passage of the Arizona law is symptomatic of the passions raised and the mistrust sown by an immigration crisis that has reached \"critical mass\".

GOP blocking immigration reform, senator tells Latinos U.S. Sen. Harry Reid on Tuesday slammed Republicans for blocking comprehensive immigration reform and told Hispanics they shouldn\'t be treated differently because \"their skin\'s a tone darker\" than that of America\'s early European immigrants.

More than one-fourth of illegal immigrants deported from the United States under a federal program that supporters touted as a way to identify and deport dangerous criminals were not convicted of crimes, according to government reports released Tuesday.

Denver, Colorado (CNN) - Colorado Gubernatorial hopeful Tom Tancredo, an outspoken critic of illegal immigration, told CNN he opposes altering the 14th Amendment calling the debate over it: \"almost a ruse.\" Describing himself as \"an outspoken critic of the anchor baby phenomenon,\" the former five-term Republican congressman said the question of who is a citizen should be resolved by the courts.

Immigration officials announced Tuesday that all 24 counties along the Southwest border are now part of a federal program designed to run fingerprint-based immigration history checks on suspects booked into local jails. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement program, dubbed Secure Communities, debuted in Harris County\'s jails in October 2008. Since then, the program has expanded to 544 jurisdictions and is scheduled to be used across the country by 2013.

Over the last few weeks, we have run a series of special reports on immigration in print, on television and radio, and on our multiple websites. We have tried hard to fairly represent all points of view. We have also tried to separate fact from fiction, hyperbole from reality.