STEPS ANNOUNCED FOR DEFERRED ACTION - The Department of Homeland Security announced steps to take for certain undocumented youth to apply for deferred action of deportation beginning August 15th. Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, was a leader in the negotiations with the federal government. Hincapie answered questions about the rules and procedures of the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, on Línea Abierta’s Immigration Edition, hosted by Rosalba Piña.
WORK PERMITS CONSIDERED IN CALIFORNIA – Going against the current set by Arizona, lawmakers in California are proposing a bill that would give work permits to tens of thousands who live and work in the state without papers. Assemblymember Manuel Pérez introduced the bill months ago but pulled it back. He is about to re-introduce it. Pérez says it is in the best interest of the state’s economy and of workers and their families that many immigrants be allowed to live and work legally, as federal immigration reform is still pending. Manuel Ocaño produced this report on the story.
LEGENDARY SINGER CHAVELA VARGAS DIES – This week one of the greatest singers of traditional Mexican music, Chavela Vargas, died at 93 years old. The legendary singer lived an intense life, breaking gender and musical stereotypes. Chavela Vargas overcame it all: alcoholism, machismo, and rejection because of her sexual orientation. Vargas was hospitalized in Spain, where she was promoting an album in commemoration of the poet Federico García Lorca. When her health began to fail, the “lady of the red poncho, silver hair, and brown skin,” as troubadour Joaquín Sabina described her, asked to return to Mexico to live her last days. Our correspondent in Mexico, Raúl Silva, prepared this tribute to the trailblazing singer.