Linea Abierta - English Description - Show in Spanish

FROM DROPOUT TO PROFESSOR. Víctor Ríos dropped out of school when he was 14 and joined a gang. Today, he is a university professor researching how juvenile crime policies affect Latino and African-American boys. This edition, part of a special series on the school-to-prison pipeline, offers an in-depth interview with Dr. Ríos about the way the discriminatory application of disciplinary measures pushes many young Latinos out of the classroom and into prison, and what kinds of innovative approaches to discipline have proved to work to change that pattern around. Guest: Dr. Víctor Ríos, Associate Professor in Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara, and Author, Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys (2011), Santa Barbara, CA, www.soc.ucsb.edu

ALABAMA BLACKLIST. A coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit to block the state of Alabama from posting an online list of those suspected to be undocumented immigrants. The suit was filed after four Latino immigrants were arrested for a misdemeanor: fishing without a license. Also, a community organizer comments on efforts to pressure Alabama members of Congress to support immigration reform. This edition is a simulcast with the three-station network of La Jefa, based in Birmingham, Alabama. Guests: Gerardo Guzmán, Guest Commentator and Radio Host, La Jefa Radio, Birmingham, AL, www.aquimandalajefa.com; Tomás López, Attorney, Immigrant Justice Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL, www.splcenter.org; Evelyn Servin, Community Organizer, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, Montgomery, AL, www.acij.net. ALSO, REUNIFICATION. A deported father just won the definitive and permanent custody of his three children. The family had been separated when the father was deported from North Carolina and the children later placed in foster care. Guest: Felipe Montes, Deported Father who fought for custody of his children, Sparta, NC.

IMMIGRATION EDITION. The first Senate hearings on immigration were held last week, hours after President Obama's State of the Union Address. José Antonio Vargas, the acclaimed journalist who made his own headlines when he came out as an undocumented immigrant, appealed to the Senate Judiciary Committee with these words: "What do you want to do with me?" Guest commentator Rosalba Piña discusses this and other immigration news developments. She also answers listeners' questions about immigration. Guests: Attorney Rosalba Piña, Immigration law expert, Chicago, IL, www.rosalbapina.com; Eliseo Medina, International Secretary-Treasurer, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Washington, D.C., www.seiu.org

BLESS ME, ULTIMA. Based on a classic Chicano novel, the movie Bless Me, Ultima is the story of the coming-of-age of a young boy who learns about his own Native American roots through a curandera named Ultima. The book, by Rudolfo Anaya, has been banned in some school districts throughout the country. The movie is set to begin screening in hundreds of movie theaters this week. Guest: Miriam Colón Valle, Actress, Bless Me, Ultima The Movie, New York, NY (TBD), http://www.blessmeultima.com

MEXICO EDITION. Mexico's president Enrique Peña Nieto announces the Program for the Social Prevention of Violence and Delinquency, which changes the focus of the war against drug trafficking. Government officials express that now the causes of delinquency will be attacked, not only the effects, a decision that has been reported to United States diplomats, since former president Felipe Calderón agreed on the Merida Initiative with the U.S., allowing U.S. agents to be informed of installations and programs related to Mexico's national security. Some radio listeners express doubts of Enrique Peña Nieto's administration and warned about agreements between the governments to train Mexican security forces in the U.S. Also in this addition, small farmers continue the struggle to block commercial planting of genetically engineered corn in Mexico, and farmers from Apaseo el Alto, Guanajuato denounce the desertification of agricultural areas and the installation of industrial corridors in what were once green fields. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts Voz Pública from Mexico City. Guests: Wilfrido Aguirre Martínez, Farmer, Apaseo el Alto, Guanajuato, Mexico (pretaped interview); Olegario Carrillo Mesa, President, National Union of Regional Autonomous Small Farmer Organizations (UNORCA) (pretaped audio).

LATINO CALIFORNIA. Latinos are now the majority in California. According to a leading demographer, this momentous change of the population makeup in the state is happening on Valentine’s Day. Is the state ready for this change? What are the repercussions, promises and challenges for the new majority? Guests: Araceli Martínez, Reporter, Radio Bilingüe y La Opinión, Sacramento, CA; Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, Professor of Medicine, Director, Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, www.cesla.med.ucla.edu

STATE OF THE UNION. President Obama delivers his State of the Union address, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio delivers the Republican response in both English and Spanish, a first. This program includes segments of both speeches. Listeners call in to share their perspectives on the President’s speech in terms of issues most significant to Latinos, including the economy, healthcare, education, the environment, and immigration reform. Guests: President Obama, President of the United States, Washington, D.C., www.whitehouse.gov (segments of speech); Sen. Marco Rubio, United States Senator of Florida, Washington, D.C., http://www.rubio.senate.gov (segments of speech); Juan Hernández, Republican commentator and political advisor, Fort Worth, TX, www.juanhernandez.org ; Henrik Rehbinder, Editorial Page Editor, La Opinión, Los Angeles, CA, www.laopinion.com

PATH TO REFORM. On the eve of President Obama's State of the Union address, it is expected that immigration reform will be a top highlight in his speech and that he will outline his principles for legalization with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. On the other hand, Republicans in Congress warn thata path to citizenship is “extreme” and could halt the conversations. What should be the elements for a bipartisan immigration reform plan? Guests: Eliseo Medina, National Secretary-Treasurer, Service Employees International Union, Los Angeles, CA, www.seiu.org ; Juan Hernández, Republican commentator and political advisor, Fort Worth, TX, www.juanhernandez.org

TENANT ARRESTS. Hundreds of people in Arkansas face criminal charges every year because they fail to pay the rent on time. A state law allows landlords to demand a tenant move out within 10 days of not paying the rent in full. The international organization Human Rights Watch is calling the law unjust and calls for its repeal. Guest: Antonio Ginatta, Advocacy Director, U.S. Program, Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C., www.hrw.org ALSO, RAZA STUDIES REINSTATED? A federal judge ruled in a decades-long desegregation case against the Tucson Unified School District, ordering the school board to eliminate segregation and improve education for Latino students. As part of this order, the district will have to offer culturally-relevant classes focusing on the history and culture of Latino communities. Does this mean Tucson teachers can reinstate their banned ethnic studies program? Guests: Nancy Ramírez, Western Regional Counsel and Lead attorney on the case, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Los Angeles, CA, www.maldef.org

MEXICO EDITION. The affirmation that the explosion in the B-2 building of Pemex in Mexico City exploded because of accumulation of methane gas is unsustainable, according to a specialist in security, Silvia Ramos Luna. Ramos Luna explains that the basement where the workers of the company Copicosa maintained the pilots, is not a hermetically sealed site. There is access to the site through vertical ladders, and if there had been a concentration of gas, the workers would have died from asphyxiation, instead of because of the explosion, as shown by official reports. In addition, the chemical engineer sas that in order to have destroyed and collapsed the four floors that were 15 to 20 centimeters thick, the amount of gas would have had to have been 1000 times more than that required to heat the administrative building of Pemex. Also, family members of Copicosa worker, Gregorio Vite Valderrama, whose body remained under the ruins for almost three days, commented that the cadaver had traces of soot and burns in the hair and eyebrows. Guests: Silvia Ramos Luna, chemical engineer of security, graduated from Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Secretary of Outreach, Unión Nacional de Técnicos y Profesionistas Petroleros (UNTyPP), Mexico City, Mexico. http://archivosderb.org/?q=es/audio/by/guest/silvia_ramos_luna

LATINO POWER IN COLORADO. Latino voters made a big difference in Colorado in the 2012 elections. And not only did they help President Obama win; the number of Latino state legislators tripled. As those new lawmakers take office, what do they plan to do to address some of Colorado’s most pressing problems, including a widening health and economic gap between whites and Latinos? Listeners from Colorado are encouraged to call in. Guests: Olivia Mendoza, Executive Director, Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization (CLLARO), Denver, CO, www.larasa.org ; Bacilio Flores, Resident, Alamosa, CO; Theresa Trujillo, Executive Director, Colorado Democratic Latin@ Caucus, Denver, CO.

JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to be appointed to the Supreme Court, published her memoir "My Beloved World,' a book about her childhood growing up in the Bronx, her education and the first years of her professional life. The book is at the top of the New York Times Best Seller List. In this interview, she expands and gives insights on some of the stories in her book. Guest: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, D.C., www.supremecourt.gov

IMMIGRATION EDITION: REFORM ON THE TABLE. President Obama meets with Latino leaders about immigration reform, and the first congressional hearing on immigration reform is held in the House of Representatives. Leaders present at both meetings join this edition to report on the discussion. This edition also includes a segment of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's statement supporting legalization for undocumented immigrants who arrived as minors. This edition is hosted by immigration attorney Rosalba Piña, who also answers listeners' questions about the do's and don'ts of applying for residency and naturalization. Guests: Arturo Rodríguez, President, United Farm Workers (UFW), Washington, D.C., www.ufw.org ; Laura Vázquez, Legislative Analyst, Immigration Policy Project, National Council of La Raza, Washington, D.C., www.nclr.org

HEALTH ACTION: HEALTHCARE FOR ALL. Health advocates are announcing "the biggest push for outreach and enrollment in health insurance in the nation's history". This edition includes a conversation with health care analysts about the deadlines coming up for the Affordable Care Act in healthcare markets, subsidies for working families, the new beneficiaries of Medicaid-plus, and the potential impact of immigration reform on the health of the nation. Also, a fragment of an interview with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, about her own experiences with diabetes and alcoholism in the family. Guests: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice, United States Supreme Court, Washington, D.C., www.supremecourt.gov (pretaped interview); Vanessa Cárdenas, Director of Progress 2050, Center for American Progress, Washington, D.C., www.americanprogress.org ; María Gonzalez Albuiexech, Communications and Markets Director, Healthcare for All Massachusetts, Boston, MA

HEALTH ACTION 2013: DAY TWO, HOUR 2. With the debate on the “debt ceiling,” the budget deficit, and massive cuts to federal health care programs looming on the horizon, hundreds of advocates of the right to health care convene in Washington in the conference Health Action 2013. In this program, analysts comment on proposals to reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits and the prospects that immigration reform plans receive the highest priority in the U.S. Senate. Guests: Diana Varela, Spokesperson, Social Security Administration, Washington, D.C., www.ssa.gov ; Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat – Wisconsin (audio recording); Maria Cardona, Media commentator, columnist for Latinovations, consultant for the Democratic Party, Washington, DC; Carlos Gutiérrez, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, leading member of Republicans for Immigration Reform.