Has the conservative era ended in U.S. politics? Republicans probably will decide before the rest of the nation gets to weigh in. Lines already are being drawn in the GOP. The right wing says it was deviation from conservative orthodoxy that resulted in this year\'s presidential election loss. John McCain was among the least conservative of the contenders from the party\'s nomination, and long before the election season Republicans had abandoned the fiscal restraint that for decades had been its defining trademark. The Rush Limbaugh element says getting back to basics is the path back to power.

As a high school student representing his home town of Evanston, Wyo., community activist Tony Yapias traveled to Washington, D.C., for an event that would shape his future and mission in the public arena. \"Congressman Dick Cheney met with me for an hour and he said something that I will always remember,\" Yapias said. \"He told me, \'Tony, your community will need you someday, will need Hispanics like you to be great leaders.\'\"

SASABE, Mexico -- It wasn\'t so long ago that thousands of passers-by would spend a couple of days on a bus to swarm into this cow town in the heart of the Sonora Desert. It was the final stop on the frontier on the way to el Norte, the last place to stock up on Gatorade. Thanks to the crackdown on illegal immigration, Sasabe is now a ghost town.

Virginia Republican Congressman Virgil Goode\'s narrow loss to Democrat Tom Perriello became official last week, and it caps another bad showing for immigration restrictionists. For the second straight election, incumbent Republicans who attempted to turn illegal immigration into a wedge issue fared poorly.

In this day and age, the anti-immigration movement continues to gain momentum in the United States and xenophobia continues to rise with it. As our beloved economy continues to collapse into a big mess, more people are joining the ranks of Lou Dobbs and Mark Krikorian in blaming immigrants (not just illegal immigrants) for all our problems

The report \"Republicans Fenced in by Immigration\" is making the rounds in major media outlets, most recently landing on the opinion page of the Wall Street Journal. This report comes at time when the GOP is facing major setbacks especially with Hispanic voters. The GOP\'s share of the Hispanic vote fell from 40% in 2004 to 31% in 2008. If the GOP continues to attempt to turn immigration into a wedge issue, the percentage of Hispanics voting Republican will only continue to diminish

If Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano wins confirmation as secretary of Homeland Security, she will be responsible for enforcing the nation\'s immigration laws. This is a chilling thought for those of us who have witnessed up close how Napolitano can be vexed to the point of paralysis by that highly charged issue.

The 287(g) program is a partnership between the sheriff\'s office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Named for a section of federal law, 287(g), among other things, trains and authorizes local lawmen and jailers as federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Where Republicans get in trouble is that too often their rhetoric sounds not just anti-illegal immigration but also anti-Hispanic. The result is that millions of Americans who might otherwise feel that the Republican Party is a better fit for them lean to the Democrats instead.

World leaders, policymakers and interest groups are wasting no time in urging President-elect Barack Obama to direct his attention to their causes, sending him wish lists that include calls for him to reduce the federal carbon footprint, complete immigration reform, fix healthcare and even institute merit pay for teachers. Obama is not likely to be distracted from the economic crisis at this point, but there is one set of recommendations he should keep handy: a Brookings Institution report released Monday that urges an overhaul of U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean

U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended 14 illegal immigrants from China in the past week along Arizona\'s stretch of U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe. On Wednesday at 8 a.m., agents noticed a suspicious Dodge pickup truck traveling north on Arizona 286, said Mike Scioli, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. After observing abnormal behavior by the driver, agents turned on their lights and sirens and pulled the truck over. When it stopped, the driver, a Mexican man, fled.

U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended 14 illegal immigrants from China in the past week along Arizona\'s stretch of U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe. On Wednesday at 8 a.m., agents noticed a suspicious Dodge pickup truck traveling north on Arizona 286, said Mike Scioli, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. After observing abnormal behavior by the driver, agents turned on their lights and sirens and pulled the truck over. When it stopped, the driver, a Mexican man, fled.

Reporting from Greeley, Colo. -- Amalia Cerrillo has made her living helping other people pay their taxes. Sometimes she showed them how to get on the tax rolls in the first place, helping clients without Social Security numbers apply for a special ID they needed to file their returns Some were illegal immigrants who got jobs using fake or stolen information, but that wasn\'t an issue for the Internal Revenue Service: Legal or not, everyone must pay their taxes

Drug traffickers have burrowed dozens of tunnels under our border with Mexico, determined to continue their lucrative trade despite whatever barricades we build. Some of the tunnels are elaborate, with lighting and air circulation, while others cleverly use hinged lids hidden under parked cars or trapdoors beneath tables inside houses on the Mexican side of the line.

Provisions of new Utah immigration legislation, due to be in effect next July, are under fire as lawmakers complete interim work and prepare for the 2009 session. Aspects of 2008\'s immigration omnibus bill, SB81, currently getting the most scrutiny include the mandated use of a federal employment verification system for public employers and state contractors and new immigration screening responsibilities for county and municipal law enforcement.