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The nations battle lines over immigration enforcement deepened Friday after Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly rescinded an Obama-era memo that sought to shield millions of parents of U.S. citizens and others from deportation.

Kelly was fulfilling part of a campaign promise that President Trump had made to overturn on his first day in office two of former president Barack Obamas controversial memos on illegal immigration.

The rescinded memo was never implemented, and it is the subject of an ongoing federal lawsuit over whether Obama had the authority in 2014 to even issue the order.

But the Trump administrations action late Thursday spurred fears that the president would also revoke the second memo, which protects undocumented immigrants brought here as children, and that the administration would target families indiscriminately for deportation.

This action by President Trump demonstrates to us that they have no compassion, they have no common sense, they have no humanity, said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Kelly rescinded the memo at the deadline for the parties to decide how the lawsuit should proceed. In his statement, Kelly said there was no credible path forward for the program Obama had proposed.

I applaud President Trump, said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed the lawsuit that halted the 2014 memo. I am proud to have led a 26-state coalition that went all the way to the Supreme Court to block this unlawful edict.

Kelly said the second program, the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative, would remain intact. The program has transformed the lives of nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, allowing them to avoid deportation and work and drive legally.

That reassurance from the administration drew mild criticism from Trump supporters who favor increased immigration enforcement.

Many protested last week when data released by the Department of Homeland Security showed the agency has issued thousands of new permits under the 2012 program, despite Trumps campaign-trail promise to eliminate it.

As a candidate, the president called both programs illegal executive amnesties.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, whose backers are ascendant in the Trump administration, praised Kellys rescission of the 2014 initiative but said it calls into question the legitimacy of DACA, as well.

Advocates for immigrants said Kellys action was a stark reminder of the landscape facing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and, especially, in Texas, which also recently passed a law to crack down on sanctuary cities. It takes effect Sept. 1.

Lawyers and activists say they are battling Immigration and Customs Enforcements attempts to deport immigrants, including a college student in Georgia who won a federal court battle this week to avoid deportation and a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a clean criminal record and who is the parent of two U.S. citizens.

On Tuesday, the nations top immigration enforcement official warned that undocumented immigrants should look over their shoulder.

But in Boston, the MIT janitor said he didnt want to live that way. Francisco Rodriguez, the 43-year-old father of two U.S. citizen children, said he has no criminal record and would have applied for Obamas 2014 program if it had been allowed to proceed.

Instead, he watched as Texas filed a lawsuit that temporarily halted the program. Then the Obama administration appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, finally losing last June.

Rodriguez said ICE had granted him several stays of deportation after he lost his asylum case but told him Tuesday that he has to prepare to go home. He has until July 13 to show up with a plane ticket to his native El Salvador.

He said he fled that country in 2006 after gangs tried to extort money from his construction company. In his country, he was a mechanical engineer. Now he cleans laboratories and offices for one of the best universities in the world.

This is very sad, he said of his pending deportation. But I know thats the new politics that we have with the new government. They say they could protect families. But theyre against the families.

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Immigration battle lines deepen as Trump administration rescinds Obama proposal - Washington Post

Sen. Rand PaulRand PaulSenators wrestle with transparency in healthcare debate ObamaCare repeal and the Senate: Where it stands Rand Paul recounts shooting: 'Everyone was diving for the dirt' MORE (R-Ky.) in an interview aired Sunday gave a harrowing account of last week's shooting at a congressional GOP baseball practice.

Im just getting ready to go in and I hear one loud shot, Paul recalled during aninterviewwith radio host John Catsimatidis that aired Sunday on AM 970 in New York.

The GOP senator said those on the field initially did not think much of the bang, and were about to continue playing when the shooter opened fire.

A barrage of bullets came. Five, 10, 10 to 20. Overall probably 50, 60 shots were fired. Everyone was diving for the dirt. Everyone was diving for cover, he said.

Where I was located, the shooter was on the third base side behind the dugout. And as the shots came toward where I was standing, I could see them hitting the dirt in the warning track of the right field corner because he was shooting at two staff members that had run that direction, he said.

Paul, who was able to hide behind an oak tree and run, said credit is due to the two Capitol Police officers who were there to protect House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who was critically wounded after being shot in the hip.

In the end, I would say that all of our lives were saved by the Capitol Hill police, Paul said. They saved a lot of lives by being there."

The FBI was investigating social media postings and potential motives for the gunman, identified as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old Illinois man who authorities said had been in the Alexandria, Va., area since March.

Hodgkinson, a former volunteer for Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSenators wrestle with transparency in healthcare debate Law enforcement not in touch with Sanders on Scalise shooters work for campaign Sanders implies support for Senate blockade over healthcare MORE's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, appeared on social media to be a staunch critic of President Trump and the GOP. Hodgkinson died Wednesday after being shot during the attack.

The FBI reportedly obtained a list from his pocket Wednesday that included the names of several GOP lawmakers, though none of those reportedly on the list were hurt in the early-morning shooting.

Scalise was in critical condition Friday following multiple surgeries. Another critically injured person, lobbyist Matt Mika, was in the ICU on Saturday but had shown signs of improvement, according to a statement from his family.

A congressional aide and two Capitol Police officers were also wounded in the shooting.

"I think we are going to have to do something differently, particularly when we have large groups of us, Paul said in the interview Sunday, discussing security changes for members of Congress after the shooting.

Individually, I think people can be angry at us, but it is even easier for them to combine all of their hatred and anger towards a group of us. And, I think, that is what set this guy off, he said.

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Rand Paul recounts shooting: 'Everyone was diving for the dirt' - The Hill (blog)

Five main party candidates have declared they will run for the District 26 congressional seat against Michael Burgess, R-Texas, 16 months before next Novembers election. While that may seem early, thats nothing compared to Libertarian party candidate Mark Boler. Hes been running for this position for eight years.

Boler has been the Libertarian nominee for District 26 every election since 2010, and his support has been steadily increasing, for the most part. He received 2.3 percent of the vote that year, 3 percent in 2012 and 4 percent in 2016. In 2014, when the Democratic party didnt field a candidate, Boler received 17 percent of the vote.

When there is a third party running, people go to websites. People say Oh look, there is another party, he said. I think had people like me not run, all thats left is the Republican and the Democratic party, which is really the same party. Theyre the Big Government party.

The Libertarian party is the most prominent third party in the U.S., as well as one of the most long-lasting, holding its first convention in 1972 and growing ever since. In presidential elections, their candidates have been receiving increasing support since 2004, culminating in Gary Johnson receiving 3.28 percent of the vote last year, the first year in which the party was on the ballot in all 50 states. With the major parties fielding two of the most disliked presidential candidates in history, he was polling in double-digits at some points.

Johnson received 3.8 percent of the vote in Denton County.

The partys politics are based around preserving or reestablishing as much personal choice as possible by lowering taxes and fighting against laws that govern non-violent personal behavior. The most common policy positions include ending the war on drugs and pulling out of the Middle East.

Denton County Libertarian Party historian James Gholston said that while the partys poll numbers are growing slowly, public opinion has shifted much more strongly toward its positions.

Some of our ideas that seemed wildly insane once upon a time are basically mainstream, he said. Its almost a case of pick a topic. Ending the war on drugs, bringing our troops home, not regulating things into nightmare situations where youre horribly penalized just for creating jobs.

Gholston said the partys longevity is historically notable, and that most third parties start as a grassroots movement and then die out in a couple of years time.

Were still here, which is actually not a small thing when youre not a Democrat or a Republican, he said. If we were going to vanish without a trace, it would have happened decades ago.

County chair James Felder said that Texas push to end straight-ticket voting has things looking up for the party. Felder pointed to the 2016 race for Texas railroad commissioner, in which Libertarian candidate Mark Miller received 5.2 percent of the vote despite being endorsed by several major newspapers, as an example of a race that would have gone differently without straight-ticket elections.

The majority of the people vote straight-ticket. They dont even care about down-ballot candidates, he said.

Felder said Boler has been running for congress since before he became the local party chair. He said the party keeps putting Boler up as a candidate because hes incredibly active. He said Boler was party treasurer when he arrived and serves on the executive committee, goes to state conventions and helps with other candidates elections around the county.

Boler said the major barriers to his being elected are money and the prominent idea that voting for a third party is a wasted vote. The logic, such as it is, goes that since a third party candidate could never win, no one should vote for them.

Theres going to be some kind of a tipping point, a critical mass, where people see, Oh, theres a certain percentage of people voting for somebody other than a Republican or a Democrat, he said. I think then theyre going to go ahead and say, Wow, maybe they could win.

Boler said the most hes ever raised for a campaign was $2,600 in 2012, and a lot of that was his own money.

After four unsuccessful campaigns, Boler said he is still re-energized by the increasing support he receives.

I get successes and satisfaction from seeing a steady increase in the number of people that vote for me. Maybe that many people are really saying, Hey, Im fed up, I want more freedom. he said. Im here to show that theres another way, and there is. I gain satisfaction from that, even if I dont win.

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Libertarian candidate makes fourth run for Congress in Dist. 26 - The Lewisville Texan Journal

If you're interested in curious cultural phenomena, you may have taken notice of the tiny Pacific nation of Niuean idyllic Polynesian Eden, which is depopulating itself so dramatically that it will soon turn spontaneously into a wildlife refuge.

By population, the smallest country in the world is the Vatican. Niuepronounced "new way"is the smallest republic. According to its most recent entry in the CIA World Factbook, which was made in 2014, Niue's population is 1,190. It has an area of about 100 square miles, which makes it a little less than half the size of Guam; a little less than one-fourteenth the size of Long Island. Niue has a lower population density than Russia, and one 55th the population of Yankee stadium with a capacity crowd.

Despite being a beautiful, tropical paradise, Niue's population is dropping by about 3 percent a year. In 2000, its population was 1900; in 1990, 2,332; in 1980, 3,402, and in 1950, nearly 5,000. The reason for the plummet, as you can probably guess, is the absence of jobs. Niue is unfathomably remote; 1,700 miles northeast of New Zealand; 2,800 southwest of Hawaii, 3,600 miles east of Australia. Few people see a future on the Island. Niue is an independent Republic in free association with New Zealand, and as part of the deal, Niue's citizens are also offered New Zealand citizenship. New Zealand's annual gross domestic product is $186 billion. Niue's is a little less than $25 million; by far the lowest of any country in the world (though not unimpressive for a country with only 1000 people in it). Its three main industries are tourism, fishing and agriculture; subsistence farming is common. The government is in debt, and receives considerable sponsorship from New Zealand, which is also, at Niue's request, responsible for Niue's national defense. The upshot of all this is that New Zealand is slowing siphoning off Niue's remaining Niueans. Unless something changes, the remaining, aging Niueans will die-off or move. Inevitably, before long, Niue will be empty, and that will be that.

By area, the smallest country in the world, is the Vatican. Monaco is second. The third smallest country in the world is Liberland, which is 2.7 square miles on the Danube between Croatia and Serbia. Liberland's tiny patch of territory was, prior 2015, terra nulliusCroatia said it belonged to Serbia and Serbia said it belonged to Croatia. Noticing this, libertarian activist Vit Jedlika claimed it, and established the pure libertarian Free Republic of Liberland. However, It's a country recognized by no one. The legal situation is this: Serbia claims the Danube as its north-western border with Croatia. Croatia says some of the land on the Serbian side of the Danube belongs to it, and some of the land on the Croatian side belongs to Serbia. This left a microscopic parcel of land on Croatia's side claimed by neither of the two.

As regards Liberland's claim, Serbia says it doesn't care. Croatia, however, has blocked Liberlandians from entering the area, fearing that if the land isn't accorded to Serbia, it will weaken the Croatian claims to the disputed land on the Danube's other side. So for the moment, Liberland is a stateless state.

But I admire it. Most Americans will, once they've had a look at it. Liberland's constitution, written in English and available on its website, borrows liberally from oursmost importantly, in its Bill of Rights. The problem with most almost-free countries is a lack of protection against an overbearing government; too many republican governments have been formed under the assumption that so long as a government is of the people and by the people, it is free to do whatever it wants for, or to, the people. Liberland preempts this problem with strict and explicit limits on the powers of government, and the most iron-clad and extensively detailed Bill of Rights ever written. The Bill of Rights broken down into sections on freedom of speech and information, property rights, privacy rights, the rights of the accused, rights of "physical liberty," equality before the law (including freedom of religion), and "the right to self-defense and defense of one's rights and property," including against the government. The primacy of Liberland's Bill of Rights is enshrined in its Constitution's preamble (which, keep in mind, was written by people for whom English is a second language): "Being aware of a long and shameful list of governments' trespasses to the Rights of the sovereign Individuals, we hereby declare that the Public Administration governing the Free Republic of Liberland shall first and foremost respect the Bill of Rights and exercise only such functions as have been delegated to it under this Constitution. Therefore, we declare that whenever the Public Administration becomes an obstacle to, rather than a guarantor of, our Rights, it shall be our duty to alter or abolish such government, and to institute a new government for the restoration of the Rights which we consider inherent in all human beings."

If you have some time, read the whole Liberland constitutionit's inspiring, even though it lacks the poetry of the American constitution. Though I should point out, the first draft of Liberland's constitution, from 2015, began very poetically: "We, the Citizens of the Free Republic of Liberland, in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and future generations, do ordain and establish the Constitution of the Free Republic of Liberland."

Liberland is the republic that would have been created by John Locke and Milton Friedmanand Thomas Jefferson, et al, if they had been free of the obligation to compromise. It lacks land, but it has citizensor at least perspective citizens: according to the Guardian, in the week following its 2015 declaration of independence, Liberland received 200,000 applications for citizenship.

Niue, on the other hand, has land: 100 square miles, 40 times as much as Liberland has claimed in the Balkans. But of course it lacks peoplenearly the entire population could fit on a single Jumbo Jet. Citizens of Niue who wish to stay need an infusion of people, enough to create an economy with jobs and prospects for their children. Ideally, they want an infusion of people who won't interfere with their life style. In other words, they need libertariansand as it happens, libertarians needs them.

It takes 3 years of residence to become a citizen of Niue. If a few thousand Liberlandians were to move there, they would save the island and the nation, and the remainders of Niue culture (only about 650 Niuean citizens are ethnically Niuean; only about 500 of those speak the Niueain language). After a few years, the libertarians could vote to amend the Niue constitution and institute their policies of pure freedom, none of which would encroach in anyway on the surviving Niuean traditions. The Liberlandians would have land on which to enjoy their utopian ideals, andvia the accompanying guarantees of free trade, a free market and businesses free from government interferencethe Niuean economy would likely see "Asian Tiger" type economic growth (being so far off the beaten path, though, this would primary start as tax-haven growth).

Most importantly, the world will have a chance to see the success of a country based on unadulterated liberty, andas a bonuscome to understand that America's strength and prosperity are not accidental.

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Libertarians and the Idyllic Island Nation That's Running Out of People - The Weekly Standard

Being Libertarian

On Terrorism (Part 1) What Are We Thinking Being Libertarian ... day to day harassment of someone for the clothes they wear, the religion they follow, is beyond wrong, and goes against every tenant of the liberty of the individual that is one of the core tenants of not only libertarianism, but western philosophy ...

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On Terrorism (Part 1) What Are We Thinking - Being Libertarian