TEXAS EDITION – NEW CALLS FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM. Attorney Rosalba Piña joins this edition from Chicago to co-host the program. This week, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the Immigration subcommittee, anticipates that Congress is ready to discuss bills that include not just border enforcement and security, but also immigration reform. Cornyn is co-author of a plan that calls for visas for temporary workers. Sen. Cornyn’s representative in San Antonio, Romanita Matta-Barrera discusses the political environment faced by immigration reform bills. Attorney Piña concludes the program answering calls from listeners on residence and citizenship.

TEXAS EDITION – CRIMINAL OR SCAPEGOAT? The Mexican driver charged with negligent homicide in the deaths of 23 retirement home patients evacuated from Hurricane Rita, is expected to be released after a Grand Jury declined to indict him. The passengers died after the bus caught fire and exploded. Family members charge that the undocumented immigrant is now being made a scapegoat in this disaster-related tragedy. The Mexican government took Robles' legal defense and a representative comments on the story.

Guest: Ademir Olguin, press attache, Mexican Consulate, Houston, TX.

TRIAL AGAINST HUMANITARIANS. Humanitarian aid groups are urging federal authorities to drop charges of transporting undocumented immigrants against two college students. Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss were arrested on July while taking to emergency care in Tucson three Mexican undocumented immigrants who had been lost in the desert. Advocates say the government is penalizing life-saving Good Samaritan work.

TEXAS-GUADALAJARA EDITION – PAISANO PROGRAM. This monthly edition aired in collaboration with the three-station network of Sistema Jalisciense de Radio Y TV in Western Mexico, provides information about the Mexican government plans to expedite transit across the border for the one million migrants who return home for the season’s holidays. The plans, known as Paisano program, were created to reduce bribery, encourage reports of abuse by federal agents and provide duty-free imports.

Guests: Beatriz Margain Charles, representative, Paisano Program, Chicago, IL; Arturo Gonzalez Ocampo, Instituto Nacional de Migracion, State of Jalisco, Guadalajara; Edgar Rodriguez Torres, deputy administrator, Mexican Customs Office, Guadalajara.

TEXAS EDITION - THE BINATIONAL VOTE. For the first time in history, Mexicans living abroad will be able to vote in Mexico’s presidential elections, but time is running out for millions. Will the Mexican government be able to register millions in a matter of weeks? Línea Abierta crosses the border to air live from a special voter registration center in Ciudad Juárez set up to help register migrant voters who travel from the U.S.

WALLS AND BRIDGES. The U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez, the largest in the world, has ignited protests from Mexican border residents who complain of arbitrary rejections to their applications for “laser visas,” the cards that allow border residents to travel into the U.S. This program airs the day when President Bush visits the Border Patrol headquarters in El Paso, to announce his support to a large "virtual", high-tech wall along the border.

Guests: Raul Carreon, President, Organizacion Fronteriza de Rechazados de Visas Laser, Ciudad Juarez; Jose Luis Flores, Consejo Ciudadano por el Desarrollo Social, Ciudad Juarez; Pilar Ramirez, Centro de Derechos Humanos del Migrante, Ciudad Juarez; Hernan Ortiz, Organizacion Popular Independiente, Ciudad Juarez.

TEXAS-GUADALAJARA EDITION: THE MIGRANT VOTE – To help migrants participate in the upcoming presidential election, Mexican elections officials are setting up a number of mobile voter registration centers in states that receive the largest number of visitors for the holidays. Also, special centers along the U.S./Mexico border seek to register visitors as they pass through the major border ports. This program analyzes issues such as the lack of informational campaigns, access to voter registration, mailing registered letters and other hurdles that the migrant voter has to overcome to be able to vote in Mexico. The program is part of the monthly series “Sin Fronteras,” a live simulcast with the three-station network Radiarte in Guadalajara, the heart of Western Mexico.

TEXAS EDITION - OPERATION COMMUNITY SHIELD. Attorney and political analyst Carlos Spector-Calderón comments on news developments, including Operation Community Shield, a joint venture between local and state police and federal immigration authorities to deport hundreds of alleged gang members. He also comments on the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, a restrictive bill passed by the House. Listeners also comment on their frustration about achieving economic and social development in Mexico and the effectiveness of their voting power in the upcoming Mexican election.

TEXAS EDITION. Attorney and political analyst Carlos Spector-Calderón joins this edition to review some good and not so good events that impacted the border area in 2005. News developments include the approval of the restrictive Sensenbrenner bill in Congress, the vigilante operation of the minutemen group at the border, the federal scrutiny against a Spanish-speaking station in San Antonio that aired a border-patrol watch, Jose has become the most popular boy's name in Arizona and Texas, and other news stories. Several callers join in the on-air conversation.

TEXAS EDITION – THE BORDER ON 2006. Attorney and political analyst Carlos Spector-Calderón hosts this edition. Spector-Calderón talks about Línea Abierta’s anticipated coverage of the U.S./Mexico border during 2006. He comments on good and not-so-good news stories to watch for in the year to come.

TEXAS EDITION - THE BORDER FENCE. A House proposal plans to build a 700-mile-long high-tech fence along the border with Mexico, including the section between Laredo and Brownsville and proponents would like the fence to stretch along the entire border. The bill is scheduled for a debate in the Senate next month. Host Carlos Spector-Calderon discusses this and other border control measures and the resistance they are meeting from civil-rights groups.

Guests:

Maria Jimenez and Teodoro Aguiluz, immigrant advocates, CRECEN, Houston, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – ILLEGAL RE-ENTRY. Growing numbers of immigrants are ending up in U.S. jails after a federal law made it a crime for deported immigrants to re-enter the U.S. without a permit. As denials of admission and deportations at the border continue to increase, more and more immigrants are expected to face harsher prison terms. Carlos Spector-Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX.

Guest:

William Maynard, public defender, El Paso, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – GLORY ROAD. This movie, with a strong early box office showing, tells the story of the underdog Texas Western College basketball team. The first basketball team starting with a line up of all African-American players, TWC rose to win the 1966 NCAA Tournament. Veteran journalist and author Ray Sanchez joins Carlos Spector-Calderon to talk about how this team changed history, changed the face of college basketball and why was it that the team could thrive in El Paso, home of the then-Texas Western College. Mr. Sanchez is the author of the book "Basketball Biggest Upset" and a key consultant for the movie "Glory Road."

TEXAS EDITION – GUADALAJARA SIMULCAST. Mexico’s leading migrant state, Jalisco, has substantially increased investments in community development projects under the program Tres por Uno. Powered by money remittances of Jalisco residents in the U.S. and government matching funds, these social investments place Jalisco at a national leadership level. Guests in Jalisco and Texas join this edition of “Sin Fronteras,” a monthly simulcast in partnership with the three-station network of Sistema Jalisciense de Radio y TV in Guadalajara, in Western Mexico.

Guest:

Rosalba Santibáñez, president, Clubes Jaliscienses, San Antonio, TX; Juan Maria Naveja, director, Comite de Planeacion para el Desarrollo del Estado de Jalisco, Guadalajara; Jose Rafael Rios Martinez, Secretary for Human Development, State of Jalisco, Guadalajara.

TEXAS EDITION – BILINGUAL ED BATTLE. The Texas Board of Education is debating offering English immersion instead of the required bilingual education programs. Civil rights groups go to court urging Texas to effectively implement bilingual programs for ELL students. This program also includes comments on news developments, including the Democratic and Republican primaries in Texas and the efforts by Dallas' officials to pursue legal changes to be able to recruit undocumented professionals to meet the growing need of bilingual teachers.

Guests:

Jane E. Lopez, senior staff attorney, META - Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy, Inc., Somerville, MA; Nora Harris, Bilingual program coordinator, Harlandale Independent Unified School District, Harlandale, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – SENATE CONTINUES WORK ON IMMIGRATION. Senators working on an immigration bill set a vote for Monday on proposals that deal with the status of undocumented immigrant workers. Under pressure from the Republican leadership, the committee’s chairman demanded more time to complete an immigration reform package. This program reports on the issue and on an emerging group of youth from Houston who are getting together to urge passing of legislation to legalize undocumented students.

Guests:

Joseph Reina, director for Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Dallas, TX; Tatiana Medina, college student, organizer of demonstration for Dream Act, Houston, TX.

TEXAS EDITION: STUDENT WALKOUTS. Tens of thousands of students took to the streets last week across the nation in support of immigrant rights and against draconian bills in Congress. Young leaders of some walkouts in Texas high schools join host Carlos Spector-Calderón in a conversation about the issues fueling the demonstrations and the threat of truancy-law penalties.

Guests:

Tatiana Medina, Jovenes para un Mejor Futuro, Houston, TX; Guadalupe Manriquez, student body president, Tranquility High School, Tranquility, CA; Jesus Chavez, high school student, El Paso, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SEASON. Carlos Spector Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX, to comment on the repercussions of the marches around the state, the outlook for immigration reform in the upcoming congressional session, the shifting public attitudes towards immigrants, and the role the current debate and mobilizations around immigrants is expected to play in this year’s mid-term elections.

Guests:

Alfredo Carvajal, editor, Diario Al Día, Dallas, TX; Domingo García, LULAC, Dallas, TX; Betty Camargo, Red Fronteriza de Derechos Humanos, El Paso, TX; Agustina Juárez, Red Fronteriza de Derechos Humanos, Houston.

TEXAS EDITION – TEXANS STANCE TOWARDS LEGALIZATION. Romanita Matta, representative of Senator John Cornyn, a conservative Republican from Texas, comments on the recent compromise immigration bill reached in the Senate. Cornyn is among the staunchest opponents of legalization programs and has strongly criticized the measure. Marisol Pérez, an immigrant advocate from MALDEF, joins this edition to debate Cornyn’s position.

TEXAS EDITION – IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVISM: YESTERDAY AND TODAY. Carlos Spector Calderón joins this edition from El Paso, TX, to give a retrospective account of the efforts and events in the past three decades that paved the way and led to the historic high tide of mass demonstrations in recent weeks.

Guests:

Maria Jimenez, veteran immigrant organizer, professor at University of Houston, Houston, TX; Ruben Solis, organizer, South West Worker Union, San Antonio, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – THE PROTESTS: WHAT’S NEXT. After massive protests across the nation, reform activists discuss how to keep the momentum going and translate it into a civil rights movement. Carlos Spector-Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX, to discuss plans about unifying the protests and get citizens to the ballot box.

Guest:

Samuel Schmidt, political scientist, college professor, humorist, columnist, El Paso, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – NATIONAL LOBBY DAY. An alliance of immigrant, labor and civic organizations are coming together to register a million new voters and organize more rallies. The coalition is also calling to descend on Washington DC on this day in a national effort to lobby lawmakers to stop the draconian bill HR 4437 and urge for real immigration reform. This program begins with excerpts from President Bush' address this week on his immigration plan.

Guest:

Lidia Camarillo, Vicepresident, South West Voter Registration and Education Project, San Antonio, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – SENATE VOTE WATCH. Carlos Spector Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX. Congressional leaders comment on the debate about building a border wall, the legalization plan, and a number of provisions in the Senate’s immigration bill that would exclude applicants from legalizing. Also, this edition gives news on lobbying efforts by immigrant advocacy groups on Capitol Hill.

Guests:

Sen. Robert Menendez, Democrat, New Jersey; Flavia Jiménez, policy analyst, National Council of La Raza, Washington, DC; Marisela García, National Network for Immigrants and Refugee Rights, Chicago, IL.

TEXAS-GUADALAJARA SIMULCAST: THE FIRST BALLOTS. This is the monthly edition of “Sin Fronteras,” a simulcast with the three-station network of Sistema Jalisciense de Radio y Televisión in Guadalajara. Mexican émigrés began mailing the first absentee ballots to vote in Mexico’s July 2nd presidential election. This is a report on the glitches of the absentee voting process. In addition, contributor Carlos Spector-Calderón from El Paso, TX, gives an analysis on the future for the immigration bill in the joint Senate-House negotiating meeting after statements by chief negotiator James Sensenbrenner against any "path to citizenship."

Guests:

Patricio Ballados, coordinator, Vote of Mexicans living Abroad, Instituto Federal Electoral, Mexico City; Rogelio Castillo Betancourt, director, Instituto Federal Electoral, Jalisco; Salvador Garcia, president, Federacion de Clubes Jaliscienses, presidente del Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas, Los Angeles.

TEXAS EDITION – CORRIDOS. Carlos Spector Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX. The renowned group Los Tigres del Norte have been invited to comment on the new boom of contemporary orridos or ballads that sing about immigrants hardship and resistance. Spector also comments on the deployment of the first National Guard troops to the border area.

Guest:

Jorge Hernández, musical director, Los Tigres del Norte, San José, CA.

TEXAS EDITION – BORDER CRACK DOWN. President Bush visits the border to address Border Patrol recruits, advocates question the turning of undocumented immigrants to the border patrol by sheriff agents, and the first National Guard troops are deployed at the Texas border. These and other stories is the subject of a conversation hosted by Carlos Spector Calderón from El Paso, TX.

Guests:

Ed Hernández, Texas Civil Rights Project, El Paso, TX; State Sen. Elliot Shapleigh, Democrat, El Paso, TX; Marisol Pérez, MALDEF, San Antonio, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – COUNTRYMEN TO THE RESCUE. A group of Mexican-American pilots from El Paso resumes this week regular flights over the border area in New Mexico and Arizona to save immigrants from dying of dehydration. Named “Paisanos al Rescate,” the group of volunteers drops bottles of water on parachutes to individuals crossing the border through the scorching desert lands.

Guest:

Armando Alarcón, pilot and organizer, Paisanos al Rescate, El Paso, TX.

“NACHO LIBRE.” This is the title of a comedy that hits the movie theaters this week. The comedy is inspired by the true story of a Veracruz priest who became a lucha libre wrestler to raise money and save a shelter for orphans. In this program, the film director and a retired wrestling star from El Paso, TX, have been invited to comment about “Nacho Libre” and the career of Mexican wrestling.

Guest:

Arturo García Patiño “Flama Roja”, retired professional wrestler, El Paso, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES. Former state comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn and country music singer Kinky Friedman are running as independent candidates in the Texas gubernatorial race and have began to split the Republican vote. Veteran activist Jose Angel Gutiérrez, co-founder of La Raza Unida Party, comments on these and other electoral developments.

REDRAWN DISTRICTS REJECTED. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected part of the Texas congressional redistricting plan arguing that the new political map violated the rights of Latino voters. Civil rights group MALDEF, group that challenged the electoral map, has been invited to comment the decision.

TEXAS EDITION – MASS-IMMIGRATION DETENTION BUSINESS. Immigration bills in Congress would significantly expand the immigrant detention centers and build a huge high-tech fence for hundreds of miles along the border. Who are those influential contractors who stand to profit from this booming business? Carlos Spector Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX.

Guest:

Alexis Mazon, organizer, Coalition for Human Rights, Tucson, AZ.

TEXAS EDITION - LATINOS MOVING IN. Civil-rights leaders and real estate professionals are joining ranks to encourage Latinos to buy homes in Farmers Branch, the first city in Texas to consider laws to penalize undocumented immigrants who live and work in this Dallas suburb. This program is hosted by Carlos Spector Calderón from El Paso.

Invited guests:

Rosa Rosales, national president, LULAC, Dallas, TX; Beatrice Alba Martinez, real estate agent, national chairwoman, LULAC National Housing Commission, Dallas, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – CONJUNTO FESTIVAL NARCISO MARTÍNEZ.Línea Abierta celebrates National Latino Heritage Month with a special broadcast from the Rio Grande Valley, home of the annual Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival and one of the best musical traditions in the country. Alma Garza, host of Satélite Radio Bilingüe’s weekend Onda Tejana show and Carlos Spector Calderón, host of Línea Abierta’s weekly Edición Texas from El Paso, are in the valley to air three days of live programs from the studios of KMBH in Harlingen, TX. They begin the series interviewing veteran Eddie Lalo Torres and accomplished accordionist Juan Antonio Tapia.

Host:

Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center, San Benito, TX, www.geocities.com/nmcacsb/NMCACevents.html

CONJUNTO FESTIVAL CELEBRATION. Top representatives of South Texas Conjunto music gather this weekend in San Benito, TX, for the 15th edition of the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival. On Latino National Heritage Month, Línea Abierta celebrates the Texas-Mexican conjunto, one of the most powerful regional musical styles created by the Mexican people. Guests in this program include Cristina Balli, director, Rogelio Núñez, chair, and Ramón de León, founder, of Centro Cultural Narciso Martínez. In addition, Flavio Longoria and Oscar García, from Conjunto Kingz de Flavio Longoria, join this program.

CONJUNTO LEGENDS: LIVE FROM HARLINGEN. On the second day of San Benito’s Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival, this program originates from neighboring Harlingen and features live conversations with leading performers and features music from the concert. Radio Bilingüe’s co-hosts Alma Garza and Carlos Spector Calderón talk with Juan Texeda, director of Conjunto Aztlán, a renowned ensemble of the Movimiento Chicano; and veteran accordionist Enrique Vela.

CONJUNTO LEGENDS: LIVE FROM HARLINGEN. Co-hosts Carlos Spector Calderón and Alma Garza continue interviewing leadings artists that have come together in the Río Grande valley for the XV edition of the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival. Aired from the studios of KMBH, Harlingen’s public radio, this program features maestro accordionist Oscar Hernández from the valley, Cristina Balli, organizer of the Festival; and San Antonio’s Eva Ybarra, one of the best contemporary accordion virtuosos.

CONJUNTO LEGENDS: LIVE TALKS. On the third and final day of the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival in San Benito, TX, this holiday edition provides conversations with headlining performers. Today, interviews include veteran Amadeo Flores, maestro of bajo-sexto and a Conjunto institution; Héctor Barrón, leader of Los Fantasmas del Valle; and Cristina Balli, organizer of the Festival. With this special broadcast from the Rio Grande valley, Línea Abierta culminates a two-year public radio series that addressed key issues relevant to Spanish-speaking audiences of the Texas borderlands. Línea Abierta, the talk show series, has been delivered to Texan Mexican audiences through the powerful signal of partner station XERF-AM, an Instituto Mexicano de la Radio station in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.

TEXAS EDITION – CONJUNTO LEGENDS. This repeat program originally recorded in the Rio Grande valley features accomplished musicians who headlined the Narciso Martínez Conjunto Festival in San Benito. Guests include Eva Ybarra, from San Antonio, a renowned virtuoso of the Conjunto accordion; veteran accordionist Oscar Hernández from Pharr, TX, who has been working on a recording that pays tribute to pioneers Pedro Ayala, Narciso Martínez and Los Montañeses del Alamo; and Cristina Balli, organizer of the festival.

TEXAS EDITION – BORDER-CONTROL BILLS. The U.S. Senate passes a bill to build a 700-mile fence on the U.S. Mexican border. The bill didn’t include any provision for immigration reform. This is a pre-election debate. Carlos Spector hosts the program from El Paso. The program includes a brief pre-taped interview with Sen. Mel Martinez (Republican – Florida).

Guests:

Federico de Jesus, spokesperson for Harry Reid, Leader of the Senate Democratic Minority, Washington, DC; Hessy Fernandez, spokesperson, Republican National Committee, Washington, DC.

HOT SOUTHWEST RACES. Carlos Spector Calderón hosts a conversation with Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the South West Voter Registration and Education Project in San Antonio, who discusses key congressional races. In at least three districts in Colorado, Arizona and Texas, Latino voters may strongly influence the outcome. Also, Elías Bermúdez, executive director of Inmigrantes sin Fronteras join this program from Phoenix to comment on the civic project “Adopt a Citizen,” an effort to encourage immigrant residents to get citizens to get out to vote.

TEXAS EDITION – PATROLMEN FACE PRISON. Two Border Patrol agents who pursued and shot a drug suspect near El Paso were sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. They were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and civil rights violations. This case has become a cause célébre for border-control advocates, who call for congressional hearings and a White House review.

Guests:

Mary Stillinger, defense attorney for agent Ignacio Ramírez; María Ramírez, defense attorney for agent José Compeán; Fernando García, director, Border Network for Human Rights, El Paso, TX; Ileana Olguín, executive director, Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, Inc., El Paso, TX.

BORDER VIGILANTE FOUND GUILTY. Roger Barnett, the godfather of border vigilantism, was found guilty of inflicting emotional distress, unlawful imprisonment and assault against two Mexican-American families from Douglas, Arizona. The jury ordered that Barnett pay the families almost $100,000 in damages.

Guest:

Jennifer Allen, Border Action Network, Tucson, AZ.

ALSO, RULING AGAINST RACIAL SEGREGATION IN DALLAS SCHOOL. A federal judge ruled that Preston Hollow Elementary School in Dallas, TX segregated minority students on the basis of their race and ordered the school's administration to cease the segregation and pay punitive damages to injured students. The Court found that the school intentionally assigned English-speaking Latino and African American students to English as a Second Language classes to keep them separate from Anglo students.

Guest:

Carlos Becerra, staff attorney, MALDEF, San Antonio, TX.

ALTERNATIVE BORDER ENFORCEMENT. This is a follow-up conversation about a series of recommendations that local officials and advocates took to the White House and the U.S. Congress in an effort to improve border enforcement policies. The program also includes a fragment from a news conference with President Bush, who calls on Congress for a “comprehensive immigration bill.”

Guests:

Manny Ruiz, Supervisor, Santa Cruz County, Nogales, AZ; José Rodríguez, County Attorney, El Paso, TX.

TEXAS EDITION – STATE OF THE UNION. Carlos Spector Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso. He includes excerpts from President Bush’s State of the Union address. He also includes a recorded statement by Congressman Xavier Becerra, who was selected for the official Democratic response in Spanish. Columnist Carlos Guerra, from the daily San Antonio Express-News, joins the conversation and provides analysis on Bush’ plans for health care, immigration reform, and the war in Iraq.

TEXAS EDITION – U.S. READING WOES. A bilingual education expert talks about the reading proficiency challenges faced by students in the U.S. school system. Dr. Margarita Calderón, an expert on English-language learners, joins this program. Calderón is a native of Juárez, Mexico, currently working as a senior research scientist and professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. She also works with the National Literacy Panel and the International Reading Association.