Linea Abierta Programming: March 10, 2025

MONDAY, MARCH 10
PROGRAM #10708 12:00 PM PT

Thirty Years, Thirty Voices: Dolores Huerta. In this special edition celebrating 30 years of Línea Abierta, pioneering civil rights leader Dolores Huerta reflects on the past three decades and talks about how Proposition 187 ended up spawning a generation of young Latino activists as well as the role grassroots organizing can play in overcoming fear and pitfalls in times of mass deportations. The program includes fragments of archival interviews with Huerta from the early days of Línea Abierta.

Guest: Dolores Huerta, Pioneering Labor and Civil Rights Leader, Bakersfield, CA.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 11
PROGRAM #10709 11:00 AM PT

Thirty Years, Thirty Voices: José Angel Gutiérrez. (Program Repeat). This first in a special monthly series through summer 2025 will feature conversations with influential figures in politics, culture, science and health who have left an indelible mark on Línea Abierta’s service. In this first edition, pioneering civil rights leader José Angel Gutiérrez talks about his recent novel “Dystopia and Derailment: Gringo Politics in the Building of Aztlán,” where he imagines the early steps towards creating Aztlán, a territory governed by Mexican Americans in South Texas. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent election, where the fictional character, President Chump, fights to cling to power, the story explores the efforts by veteran and younger leaders to remake the US and the American continent. Gutiérrez, a voting rights pioneer, also discusses how despite Latinos being the majority in Texas, they are still lagging in political power. This program was originally aired on March 3, 2025.

Guest: José Angel Gutiérrez, Attorney, Professor, Pioneering Chicano Movement and Civil Rights Leader, Apple Valley, CA.

PROGRAM #10710 12:00 PM PT

Choosing a Guardian for Your Kid. Fearing detention and deportation, immigrant parents are inquiring about ways to get guardians for their children. What happens to a child if the parent is deported? Does guardianship override parental rights? How can I protect my child if I am detained or deported? A legal expert joins this program to share tips on how to make a plan and choose a legal guardian to take care of your child.

Guest: Rebekah Rashidfarokhi, Director, Guardianship and Immigration Programs for Children, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services-CVLS, Chicago, IL.

Dreamers: The Road Ahead. A key figure in the creation of the DACA program examines the current challenges Dreamers face and the scenarios ahead. She also comments on how young activists are succeeding in transforming the current state of fear into community action.

Guest: Marielena Hincapié, Former Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center, and Immigration Scholar, Cornell Law School, San Francisco, CA.

Mexico’s Fest Over Tariffs Delay. This is a report on Mexico’s President Sheinbaum’s mass gathering to celebrate the suspension of Trump’s tariffs on Mexican exports. The mass rally planned to outline measures to respond to the tariffs became a festival after Trump backtracked and delayed them.

Tough Times for Immigrant Families. Reflecting on Línea Abierta’s 30th anniversary, a decades-long contributor reflects on the fast erosion of historic rights gained by immigrants under the 1965 family reunification immigration law and on the impact of the rise of far-right, hard-line groups who now dictate the immigration narrative at the highest government circles.

Guest: Carlos Spector-Calderón, Attorney, Veteran Immigration Legal Analyst for Línea Abierta, El Paso, TX.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12

PROGRAM #10711 12:00 PM PT

Medicaid: On the Chopping Block. The Republican-led Congress is threatening deep Medicaid cuts to fund President Trump’s plans for tax cuts and border security. At stake is health care coverage for about 80 million poor and disabled people, including millions of children. A broad coalition of hospitals, governors and consumer advocates are calling on Congress to spare Medicaid. Slashing Medicaid funding would hit California hard, especially immigrant residents.

Guest: Héctor Hernández-Delgado, Senior Attorney, National Health Law Program, Los Angeles, CA.

Closing the Department of Education. President Trump is expected to sign an executive order directing White House officials to begin the process to eliminate the Department of Education. Since ending the agency will require an act of Congress, Trump plans to push for Congress to pass legislation. What’s the future of the Education Department’s functions, including federal money to public schools, college financial aid, federal student loans, and enforcing civil rights laws in schools? What would be the impact on students, families, schools and colleges? How are Republicans in Congress reacting?

Guest: Noel Candelaria, Secretary-Treasurer, National Education Association-NEA, Washington, DC.

States Sue Over Cuts to Rural Teachers Training. Eight Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration over cuts in funding for programs to train teachers and address the ongoing teacher shortage in rural communities. Last month, the Education Department announced it was ending teacher training programs because they involved diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Guest: Montserrat Garibay, Former Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director, U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition, Austin, TX.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 13

PROGRAM #10712 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: Mariachi Mestizo: 25 Years. Founded 25 years ago by educators Leticia and Juan Morales in Delano, the cradle of the farm worker movement, Mariachi Mestizo continues serving communities in the San Joaquin Valley as a seedbed of young, talented musicians. The ensemble has performed in such prestigious stages as Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. To mark the Silver Anniversary, Mariachi Mestizo has released an album on Little Village Records with a collection of songs that celebrate their roots and the path of their ancestors.

Guests: Leticia and Juan Morales, Directors and Founders, Delano, CA; others TBA.

PROGRAM #10713 12:00 PM PT

Sin Fronteras. This is a program of “Sin Fronteras,” a special series to serve audiences in Mexico City and other Mexican state capitals with breaking news and analysis about major developments impacting Latinos in the US.

Guests: Jose Lopez Zamorano, Reporter, Washington, DC; Marco Vinicio Gonzalez, Reporter, New York, NY.

Dolores Huerta. Dolores Huerta, the iconic civil and labor rights leader, inspired audiences at a community event in San Francisco. She comments on the imperative need to fight against misogyny, racism, and homophobia and calls on people to boycott corporations that ended DEI practices.

Guest: Dolores Huerta, Legendary Civil Rights Leader, San Francisco, CA.

The cost of mass deportations. For more than 100 years, immigrants have been key to building this country. An expert has been invited to this program to explain how Latinos help drive the U.S. economy to a level that some people don’t realize. She further states that if Latinos were a country, they would be the fifth largest economy in the world. This data is relevant at a time when the Trump administration has ordered a massive operation designed to round up, detain and deport the undocumented population en masse, which raises such obvious questions as these: How exactly does the current enforcement operation threaten the country’s economy? And at what cost?

Guest: Ana Valdez, President and CEO, Latino Donor Collaborative, Los Angeles, CA.

Women’s History Month. Olga Talamante, the Executive Director Emeritus of the Chicana Latina Foundation, calls on the community to close ranks around resisting the mounting attacks on women’s rights, including voting and reproductive rights and the right to demonstrate and protest.

Guest: Olga Talamante, Executive Director Emeritus, Chicana Latina Foundation, San Francisco, CA.

Women Leaders: Immigrant Rights. On Women’s History Month, leading women advocates talk about their work helping immigrant families overcome fear through Know Your Rights workshops and leading campaigns to fight hate.

Guest: Marielena Hincapié, Former Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center, and Immigration Scholar, Cornell Law School, San Francisco, CA.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 14

PROGRAM #10714 12:00 PM PT

Mexico Edition. Five months into the term of the first woman president in Mexico, Mexicans went out to the streets in a global women’s rights protest on International Women’s Day. Analysts comment on the issues headlining the marches, including reproductive rights, violence against women and equal pay. In addition, renowned analysts talk about the uncertainty caused by the threats of US tariffs.

Guest: Dr. Gustavo Vega Cánova, Social Researcher, El Colegio de México, Mexico City, MX; excerpts from recent statements by Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.