Border & Immigration

Fronteras: More Mexicans are trying to escape intimidation and/or violence by petitioning the U.S. for political asylum. Human trafficking is a growing problem in the Southwestern United States. Authorities in Juárez are finalizing their investigation into the cause of a deadly explosion at a candy factory last month. The McDonald Observatory in West Texas is now home to the historic Otto Struve telescope.

Mexican Political Asylum Requests Up

Fronteras: A three-part series exploring hidden pockets of poverty: In college towns across the West, it's often a struggle to find both low-income and student housing. We explore a new trend of higher poverty rates in the nation's suburbs. As the number of poor students increases the amount of per pupil funding doesn't. We look at one public school district that's trying to do more with less. Also, a look at the unique challenges the children of migrant farm workers face when it comes to getting an education.

Fronteras: How the Clark County School District, one of the nation's biggest school districts in Nevada, is scrambling to make space for students. The growth of meat packing plants in the rural Midwest has created an unforeseen challenge -- children in need of food, housing and education. The series "In the Shadows of the Slaughterhouse" looks into the lives of immigrant families in the meat-packing industry.

Immigration reform may be on the back burner in congress since the end of the shutdown, but the Texas Association of Business, along with other organizations, are urging members of congress to pass an immigration compromise for the sake of the economy.

On Capitol Hill more than 600 people from business, law enforcement, and evangelical organizations nationwide are asking for a sensible path to citizenship so skilled workers can obtain employment.

On Fronteras: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has seen an increased demand for hunter education in Spanish. NSA spying in Mexico has been revealed and many Mexicans, including a former president are registering strong protest. We continue reports on an alleged culture of corruption in New Mexico's mental health system, and the state's refusal to release evidence of that allegation. This past summer was unusually busy in the Arizona desert for migrant rescues. We talk to a 9-1-1 dispatcher who takes calls from border crossers who run out of water and fear they are close to death.

A local nonprofit is seeking to understand the process of return immigration, when immigrants in the U.S. return to Mexico.

From 2005 to 2010, 1.4 million Mexican migrants returned to Mexico -- only about 11 percent of those were deportees according to the Pew Research Center. Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together (MATT) is bi-national -- it has offices in San Antonio and Mexico -- and uses its program Yo Soy Mexico to assist migrants once they crossover.

Fronteras: Activists are calling on President Obama to take administrative action to stop deportations as the chance of Congress passing a reform bill this year wanes. Hundreds of vulnerable towns in New Mexico are trying to avoid running out of water during this drought. We’ll hear about the challenges foreign doctors face when they come to the U.S. Also, a report on an award by the Hopi Foundation in Arizona for people who work with victims of torture to help them heal.

Fronteras: Volunteers in California are taking action to try to prevent Mexican immigrants from dying on their way to the U.S. The uninsured eligible for health care through the Affordable Care Act include millions who don't speak English well, which iss causing some challenges. Native Americans are exempt from ACA mandatory coverage requirement, which has some health professionals worried they could be left behind. Also, PBS’ new "Genealogy Road Show" takes a proud Texan through an emotional journey showing her family’s strong roots in Texas history.

Due to the federal government shutdown, the training of new border patrol agents is at a standstill and many of the offices, such as the Border Patrol Training Facility in Artesia, New Mexico, are closed due to furloughs.

About 350 trainees have been sent home and will not return until the shutdown is over.

Shawn Moran is the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council and said the border patrol is already a step behind smuggling organizations.

Fronteras: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will now have a court-appointed monitor watching over his department. We have a two-part series examining how the deportation of family members can impact the mental health of young people. Conservationists in the southwestern border region are busy cleaning trash out of watersheds before winter rains hit. By involving the community, they hope to create allies in the fight for a healthy border environment. And, soon travelers arriving at Tijuana's airport will be able to cross, by bridge, directly into San Diego.