This week on Fronteras:
- Text messages lead to charges for sex tourism with minors across the border.
- Undocumented parents are having “the talk” with their children about possible deportation.
- 30-foot high wall prototypes go up on San Diego-Mexico border
- In New Mexico, generating new business on the Navajo Nation.
- A longstanding Mexican tradition: Dia De Los Muertas – celebrating the dead – through art.
Men Accused Of Traveling To Tijuana For Sex With Minors
Several California men are now facing prosecution in a new effort to crackdown on sex tourism across the border. FBI investigators in San Diego say the sex crimes are taking place in Tijuana and other locations overseas. They are making use of a recent law against traveling with the intent of having sex with a minor. Evidence includes a series of text messages between the men and a Tijuana sex broker that refer to girls and boys for sale — using terms like "brand new" and "recently stolen."
Maureen Cavanaugh of KPBS has more in an interview with San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Kristina Davis who is following the cases. We want to warn you the interview is disturbing and not suitable for young children.
Mixed Status Families Plan For Possible Deportation
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, arrested nearly 500 people in four days of immigration raids last month alone. While none happened in Texas, the raids, and recent anti-sanctuary city legislation has the estimated 1.6 million unauthorized immigrants here worried. So much so that parents are having what’s being called “the talk” with their children about the possibility of arrest and deportation. KUT’s Joy Diaz has more.
Wall Prototypes Erected On San Diego-Mexico Border
Construction crews are erecting eight looming prototypes of President Trump's border wall in a remote section of the San Diego borderlands. Four are solid concrete; four are made of steel and concrete; one is topped with spikes. They all approach 30 feet in height. Customs and Border Protection is paying $20 million to six construction companies from Mississippi, Maryland, Alabama, Texas and Arizona. Crews in white hardhats operating cranes and forklifts are expected to complete the models by the end of the month. NPR’s John Burnett has more. John’s story originally aired on Morning Edition on NPR October 19th
Organization Aims To Boost Navajo Small Businesses
Fossil fuel companies offer jobs in rural areas but the industry uses up resources and create pollution. Some folks in these regions say the tradeoff isn’t fair. One organization is working on the Navajo Nation to stabilize the boom and bust economy of extraction by boosting local entrepreneurs and small business. Marisa Demarco of KUNM has the story.
Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos Through Art
The annual Mexican Dia De Los Muertos - Day of the Dead celebrations are next week. In San Antonio, an exhibition at the Institute of Texan Cultures honors those who have passed on. It's created by stylish artist David Zamora Casas. Texas Public Radio’s Jack Morgan met the man who has a Salvador Dali-style mustache and sometimes wears purple lipstick. His passion for detail also shows in his Time Before Memory exhibit.
