MURRIETA, California (AP) — Rumors had swirled among anti-immigration activists near a U.S. Border Patrol station in Southern California that the agency would try again to bus in some of the immigrants who have flooded across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Instead, by late Friday afternoon, they got dueling anti- and pro-immigration rallies.

The crowd of 200 outside the station in Murrieta waved signs and sometimes shouted at each other. One banner read: “Proud LEGAL American. It doesn’t work any other way.” Another countered: “Against illegal immigration? Great! Go back to Europe!”

Law enforcement officers separated the two sides, leaving enough space for a bus to drive into the station.

It was not certain, however, that any buses would arrive on Friday. Because of security concerns, federal authorities have said, they will not publicize immigrant transfers among border patrol facilities.

Earlier this week, the city became the latest flashpoint in the intensifying immigration debate when a crowd of protesters waving American flags blocked buses carrying women and children who were flown from overwhelmed Texas facilities.

Federal authorities had hoped to process them at the station in Murrieta, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.

“This is a way of making our voices heard,” said Steve Prime, a resident of nearby Lake Elsinore. “The government’s main job is to secure our borders and protect us — and they’re doing neither.”

Immigration supporters said the immigrants need to be treated as humans and that migrating to survive is not a crime.

“We’re celebrating the 4th of July and what a melting pot America is,” said Raquel Alvarado, a high school history teacher and Murrieta resident who chalked up the fear of migrants in the city of roughly 106,000 to discrimination.

“They don’t want to have their kids share the same classroom,” she said.

The city’s mayor, Alan Long, became a hero to those seeking stronger immigration policies with his criticism of the federal government’s efforts to handle the influx of thousands of immigrants, many of them mothers and children.

However, Murrieta officials tried to clarify Long’s comments, saying he was only asserting that the local Border Patrol station was not an appropriate location to process the migrants and was encouraging residents to contact their federal representatives.

The July 3 statement by City Manager Rick Dudley, suggesting that protesters had come from elsewhere in Southern California, expressed regret that the busloads of women and children had been forced to turn around.

“This was not victory,” he wrote. “It was a loss for the city of Murrieta, for the community that we live in and love. It made this extremely compassionate community look heartless and uncaring. That is NOT the Murrieta that we all know and love.”

Some local leaders said the outrage among some area residents was justified, given the already stressed social services infrastructure and the stagnant regional economy.

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone said they weren’t concerned about the people on the buses. “It’s the thousands more that will follow that will strain our resources and take away the resources we need to care for our own citizens,” he said.

In recent months, thousands of children and families have fled violence, murders and extortion from criminal gangs in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Since October, more than 52,000 unaccompanied children have been detained.

The crunch on the border in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley prompted U.S. authorities to fly immigrant families to other Texas cities and to Southern California for processing.

The Border Patrol is coping with excess capacity across the Southwest, and cities’ responses to the arriving immigrants have ranged from welcoming to indifferent.

In the border town of El Centro, California, a flight arrived Wednesday without protest.

In Nogales, Arizona, the mayor has said he welcomes the hundreds of children who are being dropped off daily at a large Border Patrol warehouse. Residents have donated clothing and other items for them.

In New Mexico, however, residents have been less enthusiastic.

At a town hall meeting this week, residents in Artesia spoke out against a detention center that recently started housing immigrants. They said they were afraid the immigrants would take jobs and resources from U.S. citizens.

___

Associated Press writers Astrid Galvan in Tucson, Arizona, and Amy Taxin in Tustin, California, contributed to this report.

• Immigration Issues
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Washington (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Friday called America’s legacy as a country of immigrants part of the nation’s “DNA,” as members of the military community were sworn in as citizens at the White House.

At a Fourth of July event marking the 238th anniversary of American independence, Obama praised the newly minted citizens — some two dozen active duty military, their spouses, veterans, and reservists — who “remind us that America is and always has been a nation of immigrants.”

The president’s remarks came with the country embroiled in a tense debate over how to stanch an influx of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America, among them thousands of minors, who have flooded across the border into the US in recent months.

“Throughout our history, immigrants have come to our shores in wave after wave, from every corner of the globe. Every one of us –- unless we’re Native American –- has an ancestor who was born somewhere else,” Obama said.

“That’s what makes America special. That’s what makes us strong. The basic idea of welcoming immigrants to our shores is central to our way of life, it is in our DNA,” the president said.

And he used the event to plug his support for immigration reform, long stalled in the US Congress.

“We believe our diversity, our differences, when joined together by a common set of ideals, makes us stronger, makes us more creative, makes us different,” Obama said.

“If we want to keep attracting the best and brightest from beyond our borders, we’re going to have to fix our immigration system, which is broken, and pass commonsense immigration reform,” the US president said.

“We shouldn’t be making it harder for the best and the brightest to come here, and create jobs here, and grow our economy here. We should be making it easier.”

Republican leaders will not pass immigration reform because they fear conservative activists who oppose offering a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented migrants as amnesty, particularly in an election year.

Obama has said House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told him last month that his chamber would not vote this year on comprehensive legislation that passed the Democratic-run Senate a year ago.

Obama said last week that he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to come up with recommendations within the next few months, which he pledged to immediately implement using his executive powers.

The immigration issue has gained new urgency after some 52,000 unaccompanied minors crossed illegally into the US via America’s southern border since October.

Obama has vowed to send more resources to secure the southwestern US border, where the flood of child migrants has stretched customs services and deepened the partisan bile over immigration reform.

Obama also wants to drastically increase the number of immigration judges to the area and to do more to crack down on criminal and smuggling networks.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans to highlight a positive side of the immigration debate by presiding over an Independence Day citizenship ceremony for service members who signed up to defend the U.S. even though they weren’t American citizens.

A total of 25 members of the Armed Forces will spend the Fourth of July as American citizens after the deputy secretary for homeland security delivers the oath of allegiance at a White House ceremony on Friday.

The group includes 15 active-duty service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, along with two veterans, one reservist and seven spouses, the White House said. They represent 15 countries.

The politically divisive immigration issue is earning renewed attention after the influx of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America who, under U.S. law, must be sent back across the border to their home countries. That has upset advocates of overhauling U.S. immigration policy who want Obama to allow the children to stay.

At the same time, Obama blames House Republicans for delaying action on an immigration overhaul. A comprehensive measure the Senate passed last year has been blocked by House leaders who also have done little to advance legislative proposals of their own.

Obama announced earlier this week that, as a result of lawmakers’ inaction, he will pursue non-legislative ways that he can adjust U.S. immigration policy without waiting for Congress to act.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, spend the Fourth of July with service members they invite to the White House for an all-American barbecue on the South Lawn and choice seating for the fireworks on the National Mall. Obama said some of the service members who will be at the White House on Friday are unique.

“They signed up to serve, to sacrifice, potentially to give their lives for the security of this country even though they weren’t yet Americans. That’s how much they love this country,” Obama said in announcing the ceremony earlier this week. “They were prepared to fight and die for an America they did not yet fully belong to. I think they’ve earned their stripes in more ways than one.”

He said it is worth celebrating that the U.S. is “a nation of immigrants.”

“We won this country’s freedom together. We built this country together. We defended this country together,” he said. “It makes us special. It makes us strong. It makes us Americans. That’s worth celebrating. And that’s what I want not just House Republicans, but all of us, as Americans to remember.”

Friday’s ceremony will also recognize internationally known celebrity chef Jose Andres for outstanding achievements by a naturalized U.S. citizen. Andres, who is 44 and was born in Spain, became a citizen last November and also will mark his first July Fourth as a citizen.

Andres serves on the boards of the DC Central Kitchen and the L.A. Kitchen, in addition to international philanthropic work through his World Central Kitchen. Andres runs restaurants in California, Nevada, Florida, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. He has prepared meals for White House and other Obama administration events, and Obama and the first lady have gone out to dinner at some of his Andres’ restaurants in Washington. Andres also contributed financially to both of Obama’s presidential campaigns.

Obama also has another reason to celebrate on Friday. His oldest daughter, Malia, turned 16.

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

• Politics & Government
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On Tuesday, flag-waving protesters shouting slogans including “go home” turned back three busloads of undocumented immigrants heading for a border patrol processing facility in this inland town nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego.

On Friday, immigration officials are set to try again, with more buses scheduled to arrive.

The effort spotlights the predicament in which the federal government now finds itself. Undocumented children and families are streaming across the Texas border by the tens of thousands, swamping limited resources. Most are from Central America, and since the US does not share a border with Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador, deportation protocols are more complicated than they are for undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

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To cope, immigration authorities have needed to send some of the immigrants to Arizona and California for processing. But last month, Arizona complained about immigrants being dumped by the hundreds at Greyhound bus stations. Murrieta, Calif., has raised the stakes further.

The border patrol is now refusing to give details about the whereabouts of the buses or future movements. “Due to security considerations, we are not providing any further information regarding the schedule or location of migrant transfers at this time,” says a press release.

Which begs the question: What should the federal government do with the tide of undocumented immigrants? Some churches and faith groups have extended a helping hand, and Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE), which is charged with dealing with the migrants after they have been processed, says it has reached out to community groups and faith-based organizations in southern California to enlist their input and support.

But as news of the crisis on the border becomes more widely known, a backlash has built. Critics say Obama administration policy is to blame, suggesting that President Obama’s efforts to ease deportation for young undocumented immigrants in 2012 sparked the surge.

“The Obama administration is being caught flat-footed here. They were warned by [the Department of Homeland Security] that there was a potential for this but didn’t act,” says Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors strict immigration laws.

This week, Murrieta has given voice to those allegations and frustrations.

At two meetings to hear the complaints of residents – one at City Hall Tuesday and one in a local high school Wednesday – dozens of Murietta residents stepped forward to say they felt compassion for the children’s plight, but worried about an irreversible increase in crime and the possibility of infectious disease if the migrants were allowed to enter their communities.

Carol Schlayfer of Pomona, Calif., said to the City Council on Tuesday: “We were declared a sanctuary city in the mid-’90s, and I want to warn you that the crime level in your city will elevate beyond your imagination, and the quality of life will deteriorate beyond your imagination. That’s how it works.”

On the dusty outskirts of town the same day, where about 100 protesters waved signs and cars driving by beeped in support, mother of four Ellen Meeks held a sign that read: “Help OUR government. Help house OUR children. OUR vets. Our Moms and dads. We need help here first.”

“One reason I moved out of Moreno Valley is because this immigration got out of hand. Well, I found out you can’t run from it. You have to speak your opinion,” she said.

Some 52,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border since October. The number could hit 90,000 by the end of the fiscal year in September, according to one estimate. Mr. Obama has pledged to send more resources to the border, and the administration has opened new detention centers to deal with the influx, but resources remain stretched.

The Catholic Archdiocese of San Bernardino, for one, has reached out to help.

“To us, it’s a no-brainer that churches should come to the aid of the stranger, the migrant. It’s a core teaching of the Christian faith,”  says John Andrews, spokesman for the archdiocese. Church officials are looking at raising funds, collecting food and clothing, and perhaps providing sites where some of the migrants can go while they wait for deportation proceedings after processing.

“This is like Exhibit A for the broken state of our immigration system,” Mr. Andrews adds. “When you don’t have comprehensive immigration reform, this is the kind of shortsighted, less-than-ideal situation that happens. There’s not a ton of information about how this is going to work.”

Immigrant advocates say the immigrants are fleeing violence and persecution in Central America. In Honduras, murders of women increased 65 percent from 2010 to 2013, according to a study released by several feminist groups in March.

“Our biggest concern is to make sure that the arriving immigrant families are safe, that their rights and privacy are respected, and that they have access to due process while they are still detained,” said Jennaya Dunlap, a volunteer with the Inland Empire Rapid Response Network. “After the trauma they have been through, it is important that they feel welcomed in our community, and that they have access to basic necessities and orientation.”

Other immigration analysts say the US should treat this as an opportunity.

“This is the chance for us to lead by example and to show the world that our commitment to fairness and due process is real and doesn’t crumble in the face of difficulty,” says Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Council. “If we rush to judgment in these cases, particular in the cases of small children, then we run the risk of handing these children back to the gangs and drug cartels that are abusing and exploiting them.”

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• Politics & Government
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By Marty Graham

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – U.S. immigration officials clamped a lid on Wednesday on further plans for handling throngs of Central Americans caught sneaking into the United States, a day after protesters blocked busloads of migrant families sent to a processing center in California.

The immigrant children and their parents are part of a wave of families and unaccompanied minors fleeing strife-torn Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and streaming by the thousands over the U.S.-Mexico border via human smuggling rings.

Most have shown up in Texas, overwhelming detention and processing facilities there and leading U.S. immigration authorities to set up overflow sites in California to help screen and manage the influx.

Immigration officials said most of the families headed for California were likely to be released under limited supervision to await deportation proceedings, and would likely be placed with relatives or friends in other cities or stay in temporary housing provided by charity groups.

Those arrangements sparked an outcry in Murrieta, California, north of San Diego, where an initial batch of immigrants were due to be processed at a Border Patrol station in town. The mayor, Alan Long, raised concerns about public safety and potential strains on local resources.

The first group of roughly 140 adults and children, all families, were flown from Texas by plane on Tuesday to San Diego and then bused north to Murrieta.

But an angry crowd of about 150 protesters shouting, “Go home” and “We don’t want you here,” ignored police orders to disperse as they filled a street near the facility to block the caravan, forcing the buses to turn around.

The passengers ended up being bused to another Border Patrol station in San Diego for processing there.

While Mayor Long said earlier he had been advised by U.S. officials to expect another group of about 140 immigrants every three days for several weeks, it remained unclear after Tuesday’s confrontation whether plans would be altered.

City manager spokeswoman Kim Davidson said municipal officials have received no word on what will happen next.

“Out of an abundance of caution and in light of the incident yesterday, we’re not providing any additional information … about next steps or contingency plans,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency spokeswoman Virginia Kice said. “The priority is to do everything we can for the safety of our personnel and the migrants entrusted to us.”

She said immigration authorities were being especially careful to avoid disclosing the whereabouts of the detainees “so that mobs can’t go down and root out those people.”

Border Patrol spokesman Paul Carr said undocumented Central American families will continue to be sent to Southern California for processing. “I have not been told that there will be any deviation from the plan,” he said.

(Writing and additional reporting from Los Angeles by Steve Gorman; Editing by Sandra Maler)

• Immigration Issues
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