TUCSON — Eight men in clothes dirtied by their desert journey rise from their seats and approach the bench.

They wear no belts or shoelaces. They are chained around the waist, shackled by their ankles, cuffed at the wrists. They pad across the gray carpet under the recessed lighting in the William D. Browning Special Proceedings Courtroom. Read more >

WASHINGTON — The yearlong effort to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws, which had the support of President Obama, Republican leaders and much of American business and labor, was seriously imperiled on Thursday when Speaker John A. Boehner conceded that it was unlikely he could pass a bill.

His pronouncement, amid mounting resistance from conservatives, significantly narrowed the window for success this year and left it to Mr. Obama to win the trust of balking Republicans. Read more >