(CNSNews.com) – Does the Obama administration intend to enforce the nation’s immigration laws or not? Two Republicans are asking that question, after a federal appeals court halted the deportation of five suspected illegal aliens on Monday, asking the Obama administration whether it plans to stop the deportations.
In a 2-1 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set a March 19 deadline for the Obama administration to explain whether it intends to use “prosecutorial discretion” to prevent the aliens’ removal. The five cases are on hold in the meantime.

On Thursday, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas,) chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Utah), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the Obama administration must make it clear to the court that the administration will enforce immigration laws, including the deportation of illegal and criminal immigrants who lose their cases in the federal court.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday, Smith and Grassley wrote: “In responding to the Ninth Circuit’s question, the administration will be required to reveal whether it intends to manipulate our legal system and waste taxpayer dollars, as part of its efforts to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

“Your response to the Ninth Circuit’s order must clearly and unequivocally indicate that the government will enforce the immigration laws, including promptly deporting all removable aliens who lose their cases in the federal courts of appeals,” the lawmakers wrote.

Read More at CNS News By Edwin Mora, CNSNews

The Republican presidential face-off in Ohio is too close to call as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has 35 percent of likely Republican primary voters to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s 31 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 36 – 29 percent Santorum lead in a February 27 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll, the day before the hotly-contested Michigan primary.

In today’s survey, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has 17 percent, with 12 percent for Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul. Among voters who name a candidate, 34 percent say they still might change their mind by Tuesday.

Santorum leads Romney 34 – 28 percent among men and 37 – 33 percent among women, 40 – 27 percent among self-described conservatives and 42 – 25 percent among Tea Party members. Romney leads Santorum 46 – 26 percent among self-described moderates.

“At this point, the Buckeye State is too close to call and is clearly a two-man race between Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mitt Romney,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “A third of the electorate say they still might change their mind. With five days until Super Tuesday, they certainly will be exposed to enough negative television ads to provide fodder for those who might want to switch – or switch off.”

Read More at Quinnipiac University

Conservative media powerhouse Andrew Breitbart, founder of BigGovernment.com among other websites, died unexpectedly this morning in Los Angeles at the age of 43, according to his websites.

His websites announced he died shortly after midnight of natural causes.
“We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior,” the statement said.

“Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love.”

The announcement cited a new conclusion Breitbart recently wrote to his book “Righteous Indignation”:

“I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and – famously – I enjoy making enemies.

“Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.”

Read More at WND

Congress risks taking the economy over a “massive fiscal cliff,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned lawmakers on Wednesday.

In remarks that hit Wall Street stock prices, the central bank boss suggested the economy could hit a serious roadblock if Congress allows the Bush tax rates and a payroll tax cut to expire and $1.2 trillion in spending cuts to be implemented simultaneously in January.

“Under current law, on Jan. 1, 2013, there’s going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases,” Bernanke told the House Financial Services Committee. “I hope that Congress will look at that and figure out ways to achieve the same long-run fiscal improvement without having it all happen at one date.
“All those things are hitting on the same day, basically. It’s quite a big event.”

The tax hikes and spending cuts could knock GDP growth in 2013 down from 2.6 percent to 1 percent, according to Andrew Fieldhouse, a federal budget policy analyst with the liberal Economic Policy Institute .

Read More at The Hill By Peter Schroeder, The Hill

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday he opposed Senate Republicans’ effort that critics say would limit insurance coverage of birth control, then reversed himself quickly in a second interview saying he misunderstood the question.

Romney told Ohio News Network during an interview that he opposed a measure by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., that was scheduled for a vote Thursday. “I’m not for the bill,” Romney said before urging the interviewer to move on.

Romney later said he didn’t understand the question.

“Of course I support the Blunt amendment. I thought he was talking about some state law that prevented people from getting contraception so I was simply — misunderstood the question and of course I support the Blunt amendment,” Romney later told Howie Carr’s radio program in Boston, noting that Blunt is his campaign’s point man in the Senate.

Just hours earlier, ONN reporter Jim Heath asked Romney about rival Rick Santorum and the cultural debate happening in the campaign and the legislation proposed by Blunt and co-sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Read More at OfficialWire By Philip Elliot, OfficialWire