MONDAY, JANUARY 9.

PROGRAM # 6577  12:00 PM PT

TWO TIMES DISPLACED. Thousands of pig farmers in Veracruz, Mexico, were pushed off their farms when a U.S.-based corporation overwhelmed the market of pork and feed to Mexico. Struggling to survive, many of those small butchers migrated to the U.S., where they ended up working for the same corporation: Smithfield Foods, the world's largest packer of pork. Soon, many migrant workers got unionized and challenged the giant, only to find themselves displaced from their work again. This program includes a conversation with a journalist who has investigated the story.

Guests: David Bacon, journalist, Oakland, CA, http://www.thenation.com/article/165438/how-us-policies-fueled-mexicos-great-migration; Carolina Ramirez, independent researcher, associate of Veracruz State Human Rights Commission, Xalapa, Mexico; "Roberto Ortega" (recording), former worker, Smithfield Foods, Redsprings, North Carolina.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 10.

PROGRAM # 6578   12:00 PM PT

IMMIGRATION EDITION: A RELIEF TO FAMILY SEPARATION. The Obama administration is proposing a change to immigration rules, that would allow undocumented immigrants with U.S. citizen family members to apply within the United States to legalize their status and ask to avoid staying for 3-10 years outside the country. The new rules could benefit hundreds of thousands of immigrant families. Attorney Rosalba Piña, immigration law expert, hosts this edition from Chicago. Piña also answers’ listeners questions and encourages them to take the steps to become permanent residents and citizens.

Guests: Cecilia Muñoz, Newly Appointed Director of the Domestic Policy Council, The White House, Washington, D.C.; Mariela Melero, Chief, Office of Public Engagement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Washington, D.C.

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11.

PROGRAM # 6579  12:00 PM PT

CHESS CHAMPIONS. Latino teenagers from the low-income, farm-working, drought-stricken town of Mendota, California won California’s chess championship tournament, triumphing over teams from much more advantaged cities. The win is no small feat in the town with more than 40% unemployment and has been celebrated by local and state legislators. Two young champions join this program.

Guests: Miguel Maldonado and Elizabeth “Lizzy” Gonzalez, Members of Mendota High School Chess Team “The Knuckleheads”, Mendota, CA.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12.

PROGRAM # 6580  12:00 PM PT     

SEEKING THE LATINO VOTE. A group led by a Cuban-American business co nsultant is conducting a “Hispanic Voice Town Hall Tour”, with forums in cities across the country to hear from Latinos on how to define a political agenda and encourage Latinos to vote in the 2012 elections. At the same time, the National Republican Committee launches a special campaign to reach Latino voters, and a political action committee is formed to support candidates that support Latino workers. This program discusses these efforts to seek the Latino vote, and policies and issues presented in the current primary debates.

Guests: Glenn Llopis, Founder, 2012 Hispanic Voice, Irvine, CA, http://www.2012hispanicvoice.com/; Bettina Inclan, Hispanic outreach director, Republican National Committee, Washington, D.C., www.gop.com/; Roberto Fierro, Senior Strategist, Proyecto Latino del Trabajo Amiercano, San Diego, CA, www.theamericanworkerpac.com

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 13.

PROGRAM # 6581   12:00 PM PT    

MEXICO EDITION. Students from the Rural Normal School in Ayotzinapa present unpublished videos that allegedly show who is responsible for the forced removal of the demonstration on the Sol highway on December 12^th. The materials show the moment in which two students were killed and how the police blocked help. They also show two people lighting a gasoline pump on fire, which occurred when the demonstraters were dispersing after tear gas and bullets fired by police. In a preliminary report, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission documented the death of three people, four people with bullet wounds, the violent detention of 29 protesters, and the torture of student Gerardo Torres Pérez, in addition to damage to buses and the gas station fire. At the request of human rights organizations and victims, the CNDH’s investigation will expand. The Commissioners were also shown the video. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts Voz Pública from Mexico City.

Guest: Vidulfo Rosales, Attorney and Coordinator of Legal Area, Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña Tlachinollan, Tlapa, Guerrero.

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Funds for Línea Abierta are provided in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The Ford Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.