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FRONTERAS: Human Trafficking; A Plea For Mexican-American Studies; A Family Divided On Border

Photo courtesy of The Refuge Ranch.
An aerial view of The Refuge Ranch in Bastrop County.

This week on Fronteras:

  • Human trafficking is an international crime, but Texas authorities are learning to understand it as a local atrocity.
  • The fight to get Mexican-American studies in public schools (6:18).
  •  How a family divided by the U.S.-Mexico border struggles to keep a sense of normalcy in their lives (16:20)

Human Trafficking A Local Crime In Texas

Authorities in Mexico have arrested two people they say were involved in a human trafficking operation. In addition to the arrests, investigators rescued 24 young women who are from Colombia and Venezuela. This incident underscores how most of us understand human trafficking – as an international crime. But as KUT’s Joy Diaz reports, authorities in Texas are deepening their understanding of human trafficking as a local crime. This story contains descriptions that may be disturbing.

Credit Pablo Rocha
Tony Diaz

Activist Fights For Mexican-American Studies In Public Schools

Tony Diaz has been leading a fight to get ethnic studies approved in public schools. He began in Arizona, helping overturn a 2010 law banning ethnic studies. He helped start the “Librotraficante movement,” smuggling banned books to Arizona students.

In Texas, he wrote a Mexican-American studies textbook for public schools. That book, “The Mexican-American Studies Toolkit.” It’s the second such book to be rejected.

Fronteras spoke with Tony Diaz, who is an author, activist and professor at Lone Star College in Houston.

Credit Photo credit: Brandon Quester / inewsource
Above:Bridget and Eduardo Bohorquez pose for a portrait within the Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus church in Tijuana on Sept. 9, 2017, where Eduardo works as a pastor.

A Family Divided By America’s Border Wall

America’s existing wall along the U.S.-Mexico border not only divides the two countries but also some families who are separated due to deportation. KPBS investigative reporter Jean Guerrero brings us the story of a California mother who travels to Tijuana often so her children can see their deported father.

Norma Martinez can be reached by email at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter at @NormDog1