There are three million children in the U.S. with at least one parent who is an undocumented resident.

What happens to them when their parents are swept up in an immigration raid?

What is going to happen to the children? These children are American-born," said Helena Marques, executive director of the Immigrant Assistance Center in New Bedford. "There are hundreds of children out there without their moms, in tremendous need. These babies have become the victims of a problem that legislators can't seem to fix."

It's time for these immigration raids to stop. We need a path to citizenship for those who are already in this country.

There's some good stuff out there to read today.

• Digby's Lancing the Boil

• Frank Rich's (free link) Why Libby's Pardon is a Slam Dunk, via Buzzflash

• Nora Ephron at Huffpo: The Secret: A Testimonial

• The You Tube video of Rudy Giuliani in 1989 calling for public funded abortions.

Sen. Charles Schumer called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down today. Sen. Joe Biden hedged his bets and said it's Bush's call but it wouldn't be a bad idea.

I doubt it will happen. He's too entrenched. Then again, it wasn't that long ago that Harriet Miers, another of Bush's long-time, loyal counsel, didn't get confirmed to the Supreme Court.

I think rather than having Gonzales step down now, we should concentrate on electing a Democrat as President in 2008, so that we hopefully can get a less ideological Attorney General in 2009.

However bad Gonzales may be, he's no John Ashcroft. It was Ashcroft, not Gonzales' Justice Department that brought us the Patriot Act, pushed Patriot Act II, the Feeney Amendment, created guidelines for attorney-client monitoring of conversations, demanded the DEA raid medical marijuana clinics in states that had legalized medical use of the substance, and so on and so on.

Gonzales hasn't had that much of an effect on the day to day workings of the criminal justice system, so far as I can tell -- at least not in my cases. The main restrictions we face are those created by Ashcroft -- and Congress' continued willingness to enact mandatory minimum sentences.

There's lots of blame to go around.

Update: If you feel differently, you can join in Big Tent Democrat's series on why Gonzales should be impeached. Philosophically, I agree. As a practical matter, I'd rather invest my time in seeing a Democrat get elected.

The brackets.

The number one overall seed is the defending champions Florida Gators. Other number 1s were Ohio State, Kansas and surprisingly for me, North Carolina.

UCLA has a beef is you ask me.

Most dangerous 2, imo, Georgetown. 2 most likely to have an early exit? Sorry, TChris, the Badgers of Wisconsin.

Early dark horse (defined as 5 seed or lower?)? I dunno. None that I can see. Let me think some more. Ok, gun to my head - Southern Cal.

An AP television writer asks whether the writer known to TalkLeft readers as "the She-Pundit with long blond hair" has hit her tipping point, "whether her shelf life is expiring." Does it matter? As long as AP keeps writing about her and networks continue to air her intolerant rants, she'll still be stinking up the shelf.

At daily kos, BarbinMd questions why Congressional Dems place any trust in Bush on Iraq:

As House Democrats continue to hammer out the details of a toothless supplemental funding bill for Iraq, where the enforcement of benchmarks is left in the hands of George Bush, perhaps they should think about what his word means.

Barb is obviously right, of course, but we are fast approaching a point where we need to ask why we should place any trust in the House Dems. They simply will not do what must be done to even put themselves in position to stop the Iraq Debacle sometime in the future. And yes, in the end, it will require not funding the Debacle after a date certain.

How are Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson handling the revelation that they contacted a federal prosecutor with the apparent desire to gain a political advantage by influencing the timing of an indictment? They don't want to discuss it.

Mr. Domenici has apologized, saying he was not seeking to intimidate Mr. Iglesias. The senator did not respond to requests for an interview.

Ms. Wilson, after first declining to confirm her own call to Mr. Iglesias, conceded that she had made it but denied trying to pressure the prosecutor. She also declined to be interviewed.

A broadly exculpatory denial followed by an exercise of the right to remain silent.

I can not let go of this statement:

Pelosi's political consigliere, Rep. George Miller (D-CA)'s pitch was blunt: If the liberals team up with Republicans to bring down the Iraq bill, Democratic leaders would have no choice but to come back with a spending bill that simply funds the war, without any policy restrictions. It would pass easily, with Republican votes and the support of many Democrats.

Forget querying the why the Dem leadership would have to do that, forget the fact that Mitch McConnell will filibuster Miller's "great Compromise bill" - Bush has said he will veto it. Pelosi, Miller, Emanuel and the rest of them are negotiatating against themeslves.

There are two possibilities here: the first seems the most likely - the Dem leadership in the House is truly not very good or very bright. If this is their plan for ending the Iraq Debacle, then it will never end.

The other possibility is chilling -- the Dems do not want to end the Iraq Debacle before 2008. They want to pretend that they want to, not do anything concrete to end the Debacle, and then run against the GOP on the war in 2008.

This is not only morally reprehensible, it is politically stupid.

McClatchy newspapers reports today:

Presidential advisor Karl Rove and at least one other member of the White House political team were urged by the New Mexico Republican party chairman to fire the state's U.S. attorney because of dissatisfaction in part with his failure to indict Democrats in a voter fraud investigation in the battleground election state.

In an interview Saturday with McClatchy Newspapers, Allen Weh, the party chairman, said he complained in 2005 about then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to a White House liaison who worked for Rove and asked that he be removed. Weh said he followed up with Rove personally in late 2006 during a visit to the White House.

More...

My old friends know this is one of my favorite times of the year - the NCAA tournament bracket comes out tonight, March Madness begins.

Who will you be rooting for? And for those who have degrees in bracketology, who do you predict for the 4 No. 1 Seeds?

Games are being played today that could determine the 4 No. 1 seeds. Here are my choices - Ohio State (win or lose over Wisconsin today), Kansas (win or lose over Texas today), UCLA (despite 2 straight losses to end their regular season), Florida (if they beat Arkansas OR if NC State beats North Carolina). Two teams that might be whining about this? Wisconsin and the Tar Heels. They could win and still be 2 seeds.

This is an Open Thread. Feel free to bring other very important issues to the table.

Did Mishal al-Harbi suffer brain damage at Guantanamo because he was beaten in his cell by guards or did he try to hang him himself? The Washington Post tells his story today.

From interviews with many released detainees, a portrait is painted of guards mistreating and withholding the Koran and beating prisoners.

Some of the detainees started refusing to hand over the Koran during searches and went on hunger strikes to protest its mistreatment, Azmi said. They also cursed and screamed at the guards, he said. According to Pentagon transcripts, Mishal once spit at a guard.

It was during this fraught period that Mishal was injured, several days after being transferred to isolation block India, said Hammad Ali, a former detainee from Sudan who was in the same isolation block at the time.

More...

Say hello to The "Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007" and "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007."

Introduced last week Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Jane Harman (D-CA) respectively, the bills would restore habeas and other rights to the detainees at Guantanamo.

The ACLU welcomes the bills.

The "Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007" mirrors a bill, S. 185, offered in the Senate by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill would restore habeas corpus for those detained by the American government.

The "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007" would also reinstate habeas rights and clarify the definition of "enemy combatants." Additionally, it would block the federal government from making up its own rules on torture. The Geneva Conventions have governed American behavior during war for decades. The bill makes clear the federal government must comply with the Conventions, and no one in the federal government - not even the president -- can make up their own rules on torture and abuse.

More...