MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24.

PROGRAM # 6781 12:00 PM PT 

A CLASH ON USING E-VERIFY. A supermarket chain in the San Francisco Bay Area owned by a Mexican immigrant made headlines after joining E-Verify, the Department of Homeland Security’s program to screen immigration status of employees. A union trying to organize the workers at the grocery chain says the decision to join the program by this immigrant-owned and immigrant-serving business is hypocritical. Both sides debate the issue. An employment law expert also joins the edition to discuss the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees regarding the federal employment verification program.

Guests: Gerardo Domínguez, Union Organizer, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 5, San José, CA, www.ufcw5.org/; Perla Rodríguez, Vice President of Public Affairs, Mi Pueblo Foods, San José, CA, www.mipueblofoods.com/; Rocío Ávila, Labor Attorney, Women’s Employment Law Clinic, San Francisco, CA, http://law.ggu.edu/clinics-and-centers/clinics/womens-employment.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25.

PROGRAM # 6782   12:00 PM PT

LATINOS: READY TO VOTE?  Just six weeks away from Election Day, presidential and congressional campaigns intensify their appeal to voters. Spokespersons from both presidential campaigns discuss news from the campaign trail. Also, on National Voter Registration Day, a top civic leader brings news and analysis on the Latino vote, voter registration numbers, efforts to mobilize the vote, and the showdown for the Latino vote in battleground states.

Guests: Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), Los Angeles, CA, www.naleo.org; ; Gabriela Domenzain, Director of Hispanic Media for Obama Campaign, Chicago, IL, www.barackobama.com; Sharon Castillo, Spokesperson, Mitt Romney Campaign, Washington, D.C., www.mittromney.com.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26.

PROGRAM # 6783   12:00 PM PT 

CHILD MIGRANTS CAUGHT IN THE SYSTEM. Even as overall migration from Latin America has fallen, more and more unaccompanied minors are being caught crossing the border and put into deportation proceedings. Many of these children, some as young as 6, are left to navigate the immigration judicial system alone, without representation. Legal advocates talk about the detention facilities and legal protections for these minors, and the problems they face during their hearings in court.

Guests: Nithya Nathan, Staff Attorney, Immigrant Children Assistance Project, South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), Harlingen, TX, http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_services/immigration/projects_initiatives/south_texas_pro_bono_asylum_representation_project_probar.html; Kathrine Russell, Coordinator of Pro-Bono Services, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), New York, NY, https://www.supportkind.org/.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27.

PROGRAM # 6784  12:00 PM PT 

RESTORING TRUST. On the desk of California Governor Jerry Brown is a bill that would allow police to notify immigration authorities about immigrants arrested only if the detainees have serious and violent charges, or have criminal records. Supporters of the Trust Act, who include House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, say the bill would encourage more immigrants to report crimes and cooperate with police, without fear of deportation. This edition focuses on this bill and others that have recently passed or been blocked in the state.

Guests: Araceli Martínez, News reporter, Noticiero Latino, Sacramento, CA; Jose Ucelo Gonzalez, Day laborer facing deportation, San Bernardino, CA; Jon Rodney, Communications Project Coordinator, California Immigrant Policy Center, Sacramento, CA, https://caimmigrant.org/; Manuel Arias, Leader, Oakland Community Organizations, Sacramento, CA.

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28.

PROGRAM # 6785   12:00 PM PT

MEXICO EDITION. Reforms to Mexico's Labor Law, proposed by President Felipe Calderón, would take away rights won in the 1910 Revolution. With more than 300 modifications, congresspeople from the PRI and PAN parties are proposing to make firing employees easier, allow trial or temporary contracts, hourly salaries, and outsourcing, with allow companies to hire services from another company, without the worker acquiring seniority, retirement, or health insurance. The bill would also legalize "protection contracts," in which the worker is affiliated to a union controlled by the employer. According to one researcher, a PRI politician, Carlos Aceves del Olmo, designs "protection contracts" for several companies. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts Voz Pública from Mexico City.

Guest: Dr. José Alonso Bouzas Ortiz, Researcher, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas de la UNAM, and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Conacyt), Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.

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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.